Never Ever
by ImmaNerdX3
Summary: "What am I risking Rae, my life?" he nearly shouted. "I'm risking a lot more if I let you suffer through this alone," he finished with a serious face that looked so strange on him, that Raven couldn't help but stare. This is my first fanfiction, so please review! I don't own the Teen Titans. Hey guys, I'm back. Here's chapter 20!
1. Chapter 1

The night air was restless as it rustled trees and softly whistled around the Titans Tower. It was fairly late in the night as the titans had already been into a couple of hours of sleep. Cyborg was soundlessly recharging for the night in his warm room. Robin had shockingly fallen asleep in his bed this time instead of on his desk in a pile of papers. He was long overdue for a peaceful rest. Starfire was fast asleep, upside down, in her comfy pink bed with Silky right by her side. Beast Boy was snoring loudly and occasionally speaking in his sleep on the top bunk of his bed overlooking the cluttered mess of clothes, video games, and… rotten food? Raven hadn't been asleep for very long, but she was buried underneath her blanket, hoping for a sufficient amount of rest.

Raven woke suddenly when she sensed a presence. One that was very close and not very welcoming. She jolted up erectly and stared into her dark room. "Hello?" She asked, trying to mask her fear. No answer. Her eyes searched violently as she strained to notice the slightest shadow from the moonlight peaking in her room. When she didn't hear nor see a single thing out of place, she left it alone and tried to convince herself that it was her own paranoid imagination, but her gut feeling knew differently. Before she could even get her head to make full contact with the pillow, her window shattered as a large, dark figure leaped into her room with a loud thud to accompany the sharp sound of the crashing window.

"Adonis," she hissed through clenched teeth as her fists did the same. She stood up on her bed and forced the lights on in her room with her magic to not allow the darkness to give her intruder the advantage. "Hey baby," he said in a low voice as he wiggled his eyebrows playfully. "What do you want?" she asked drenched in distain. "Shhhh honey, you'll wake up your friends," was his only response as he started getting closer to Raven. "Wouldn't that be a shame?" She said as her hands began to glow with her dark energy. He began to laugh as she warned "Get. Out."

Without warning, he lunged at her as she levitated over him, making him crash into the wall. The vibrations from impact caused her colossal bookshelves tumble to the ground and violently shook her room. Without wasting time for him to recover, Raven engulfed a piece of the broken book shelf in her dark orb and sent it flying across the room and onto the back of his head. He yelped out in pain as he quickly rose to avoid another unpleasant encounter with flying objects. He rose with a smile on his face and jumped off of her bed to gain momentum to grab her again. She fought back with bolts of black flying in his face and gave her a quick moment of his distraction to move out of his way, but he suddenly turned and hit her hard enough to send her to the ground. Before she even realized what hit her, she felt the shattering crash to the ground and on top of the glass from the broken window. Her vision began darkening in the corners as she felt warm blood trickle down her leg and an overcoming feeling of weakness. She struggled to get up, but Adonis was at her side and viciously kicked her back down. She fell with a grunt as glass cut into the side of her face. Her energy then formed around some glass behind him and let it rush to his skin as it cut into his face too and he let out a loud cry of pain.

She rushed to get up as she saw her door get blown to bits and saw Robin swing through the doorway, feet first into Adonis's back as he screamed "Stay away from her!" He was knocked down as Robin jumped on him, but he was brutally pushed off and fell to the floor. Cyborg barged forward and shot Adonis with his cannon and this time, just Adonis fell. Beast Boy flew in as a hawk and clawed as his face. Adonis grabbed him in midair and Beast Boy formed into a gorilla and smashed a crushing fist into his chest. The loud mechanical breakage was clearly heard. With that, Adonis jumped up with whatever strength he had left and retreated through the window, followed by the neon green bolts of Starfire. Robin ran to the window prepared to jump out in order to catch the criminal, but to his astonishment, the bulky Adonis was nowhere to be found. There was nothing but the darkness to swallow his sight. _How could he just disappear? How could we let him get away?_ thought Robin in his intense frustration with the failure.

Raven began swaying in a circular motion and her eyes were getting heavier. "Raven?" asked Beast Boy after he morphed back. "Raven!" he cried as he rushed over to help her steady herself. Before she got the chance to collapse, Beast Boy already had her arm around his shoulders and his arm around her waist. Her knees buckled and she leaned into his supportive body. She shook her head clear, trying as hard as she possibly could to regain full consciousness. She realized that none other than Beast Boy

was supporting her. The close contact made her want to blush, so she went to drag up her hood when she notice that she wasn't even wearing her cloak, which only made her blush more. Luckily Beast Boy didn't seem to notice and was fixated on the large wounds in her leg and down her neck. Raven quickly saw the worry set in his normally goofy face. "I can heal myself, remember?" she reassured him gently while keeping a blank expression, but her shaky voice could not match.

"Please, we must let her sit down," said Starfire with earnest concern.

"Let's go to the med room to check her out before we do anything else," explained Cyborg.

The five of them walked to the med room while Starfire and Beast Boy securely held onto Raven's weak body. On the table, she allowed the team to run all kinds of tests and was grateful for their lack of questions for a moment's time while she mentally collected herself. She began the sufficient healing process just to patch up the deep wounds and soften the dark bruises.

"Everything seems to be completely normal," Cyborg stated.

"Is this not good news?" questioned Starfire.

"Of course it's good news, but it still doesn't explain why he was after Raven in the first place," explained Robin who, like always, was too concerned with getting answers.

All eyes fell on Raven as she just finished the last of her healing procedure. "I have no idea," she confessed without much expression. Robin narrowed his eyes underneath his mask in confusion and deep thought. Beast Boy, who had been standing as close to her as possible without making either of them uncomfortable, searched her wildly for the slightest clue to any emotion at all. His search resulted in a big heap of nothing. Whatever she was feeling, if she was feeling at all, she was doing a good job at hiding it. _Why is this creep following her around?_ Beast Boy thought as he felt blood rush quicker through his veins in anger as he thought of Adonis seriously hurting her.

Raven thought about his sudden appearance secretly to prevent the others from sensing her worry. It wasn't that she did not trust her friends; she just didn't want them to worry for her. It was already late and she knew they would be obsessing with the attack when they should be resting. She suddenly shot her eyes in the direction of Beast Boy and realized that he was staring… angrily? "What? I'm fine." she said specifically in his direction. He awkwardly looked down, but Raven turned her head in response to Robin's voice.

"You call that fine? Adonis just shows up in your room in the middle of the night for some unknown reason and knocks you nearly unconscious. Raven, that is not nothing..."

"What do you think he wanted with you?" asked Cyborg.

"Did he take something you possess?" suggested Starfire

"Dude, I think it's kinda hard to tell. I mean, he basically trashed your room," observed Beast Boy.

"You mean more trashed than your room?" asked Raven, secretly happy to see him return to his normal self.

"Hey! It's not THAT bad!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

Everyone looked in his direction with vexed expressions on.

"Okay, maybe it is," he concluded in a small voice as Cyborg began laughing.

"Look, it's gettin' even later and I think it would be best if we all went back to bed and figure this out in the morning," said Cyborg once he stopped laughing.

"You guys go, I'll be up in my room to figure this out," Robin stated as everyone sighed in unison.

"But boyfriend Robin, where will Raven spend the night?"

"I'll just sleep on the couch," offered Raven.

"Absolutely NOT. If he's coming back, we're not leaving you alone," Robin protectively said.

"Geez Robin, I'm a big girl, I can handle myself. Since when has Adonis been a threat?"

"Well clearly he's part of something bigger this time. He broke into your room! He's been after you before and we all know what happened then. We're not taking any risks."

"So, shall Raven sleep in Beast Boy's room? You did speak about the last time and was it not Beast Boy who did the saving?" pondered Starfire.

"Ahhh, now there's an idea! He does have that bottom bunk that he doesn't use," pushed Cyborg as he shot a smirk in Beast Boy's direction.

Beast Boy's eyes lit up and jumped nearly in Raven's face. "Yeah Rae! We'll stay up all night! I guess I'll have to clean my room, but that's not a big deal. We'll play video games and eat popcorn and you can talk about your books if you want. I promise I'll listen! I'll show you my sweet moves on the video games and we can tell scary stories and build a really cool fort and listen to music and I think I have a board game somewhere if you wanna play. It'll be so much fun!"

"I'll sleep on the couch," Raven said with narrowed eyes.

"C'mon Rae! Pleeeeeeaaaase!"

"Ra-ven," she corrected.

"Ya know Raven, Robin here is right. You shouldn't be alone," added Cyborg who was playfully stroking his chin.

She let out a long breath before finally agreeing. "Whatever."

"Yeeeees!" yelled Beast Boy as he grabbed her by the arm and basically dragged her to his room at lightning speed. She became irritated as she heard Cyborg laughing. What in the world was so funny?

When they came to a stop at his door, Raven had a rather exasperated look on her face. She was angry that Robin didn't trust her to fight her own battles. Whatever this was about, she didn't want to drag them into it. _But what if they already are?_ she thought to herself when a sudden twinge of fear wound up in the bottom of her stomach. And why of all people did she have to stay with Beast Boy? She couldn't stand the smell of his room and hated how he always gave her rushes of strange vehement emotions.

"Uhhhh, hold on a sec. I've gotta clean my room," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck all embarrassed.

Raven heard clanging and banging as he rushed from one end of the room to the other. She stood out in the hallway patiently with her arms crossed. Internally, she was preparing herself for the worst smell of her life when Beast Boy opened up his door widely and invited her in with a huge smile. "See, told ya my room wasn't THAT messy!" Raven rolled her eyes as she saw his closet doors ready to burst open with duct tape on the front as if it would stop everything from toppling out of his closet. "Fabulous" she said sarcastically. The smell really wasn't too bad either.

"So! What should we do first?" he asked excitedly.

"Sleep," Raven announced flatly.

"Oh please, who needs sleep?"

"You do. Seriously Beast Boy, you need to get some sleep because you know Robin is going to get us up very early in the morning."

"Oh yeah… Well, I guess good night then," he said with the slightest hint of disappointment as he climbed to the top of his bed.

Raven almost felt sorry for being so rude, but she had to make sure he got enough sleep for tomorrow. With that, she nodded and got into the bottom bunk. She started closing her eyes when Beast Boy interrupted her.

"Hey Rae… ven," he quickly corrected himself.

"Yeah"

"You know that no matter what, I won't let that creep Adonis hurt you or anyone else for that matter, right?"

Raven bit her lip. She felt the sincerity in his voice and it made her blush.

"Of course I know," she replied. "I will never let anything happen to you either," she quickly added as her face burned. At least she could try, but her heart sunk as she realized that most of what ever goes on in her demonic life is beyond anyone's control and she didn't want him to be dragged into it. Not any of her friends.

Beast Boy beamed from above her, staring at the ceiling. "Thanks Rae," he said softly. He knew she had a rough time trusting people, but it meant the world to him that she accepted his pledge and she returned it. He would do anything to keep her out of harm's way. He yawned really loud and said "Good night," before drifting to sleep.

"Beast Boy?"

No reply. He already fell asleep, so Raven did the same as she listened to his soft breaths and his occasional snore or even voice. It felt good to hear him so close.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, I hope you like my story and here's chapter two! Yay!**

**I own nothing of the Teen Titans!**

Her breathing became heavier and then came the intense coughing. What was going on? The sky above her glowed with a menacing orange color and she felt the heat from the fire around her. Buildings all over the city were fiercely burning, but did the disaster just end in the perimeter of the city? What about the rest of the world? This was awfully close to… no, she wasn't going to say it. She killed her father and she would no longer have to destroy the world… right? This just didn't make any sense. She thrust her head from side to side, trying to take in the scene. It was a dream or vision, but at this point, it didn't matter. As long as it wasn't a reality. Could it potentially be a reality?

"Hello?" she called out too fearful for her liking. There wasn't a single reply except from the erratic cawing from the red-eyed crows circling where she stood. In a panic, she ran to find someone, anyone! Then she realized she was the only one not incased in stone. She fell to her knees and gasped when she saw the terrible scene in front of her. She looked to the far left and saw her kind-hearted friend Starfire frozen in mid flight and connected to the ground by some underworld creatures. Next to her was Raven's tough friend Cyborg who looked nearly helpless on the ground, his cannon frozen in the face of a creature on top of him. Then there was Raven's protective friend with his arm outstretched towards Cyborg and Starfire while the other was reaching for a weapon and was frozen in a mid-run. All the way to the right was almost too much to handle. It was Beast Boy. He was running to where she was originally sitting when she woke up. He kept his promise to not let anything happen to her, but she couldn't. She whispered his name as tears alighted her cheeks. She screamed all of their names to the sky angrily. "Starfire! Cyborge! Robin! Beast Boy! Oh no Beast Boy, I'm so sorry!"

Suddenly, the vision began to fuzz out and she felt her entire body being shaken awake. "Raven! Wake up! I'm right here!" She opened her eyes wide as she witnessed all of the fire disappear from her vision and transform into Beast Boy's room with the sunlight brightly shining through the window. She realized the mess that filled his room and the closet doors nearly ripped off of their hinges. The memories from last night flooded her mind as she sat up and realized she had her arms tightly wrapped around Beast Boy. She jolted backwards and wished she had her cloak to cover her face.

Beast Boy let her go gently and had no idea how to respond. He actually saw fear in her face. Cold fear. Her chest was heaving up and down rapidly and he just stayed put to give her space. When he saw her shoulders relax just a little and her chest stopped jolting, he calmly asked, "you okay?"

"What happened?" Raven asked trying to cover the shakiness in her voice with a blank expression.

"Well, I woke up to feel the entire bed shaking and then you started muttering something like an apology and names. Then before I know it, you started…" he trailed off as his face turned bright red and then continued "Uhhh, you started screaming my name. Then my closet doors burst open, so I jumped off of my bed to help you and you grabbed me, so I tried to wake you up."

She shook her head and began walking out of his room without a word.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked again.

"Yeah, I just have to meditate. Just a bad dream."

It didn't fool him, but he left her alone because he knew it was best.

Raven walked to her room and really wished she didn't. Her room was a complete disaster, but she had to get her cloak. Stepping over the remnants of her bookshelves, she reached her closet and obtained her cloak. She quickly put it on and tried to get out of her room as fast as she could. When she reached the living room, she saw the time and was relieved that it was only 6:10. She still had about an hour before Robin would get up and wrestle everyone else to get up too.

She made herself some tea and walked up to the roof. Outside, the sun was beautiful as it was still rising above the ocean. She took a sip of her tea and let out a long breath. _What in the world is going on? Does Adonis's appearance last night have anything to do with this?_ She shivered at the thought and decided that she had already wasted enough time. She put her cup down on the floor and crossed her legs as she levitated in the air. She gently closed her eyes and left her hood down. Her arms rested casually on her legs and she let the serenity fill her. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she chanted as each chant became softer and slower. She desperately needed to relax and collect herself. Whatever was wrong with her had to be resolved and quickly before things get too out of control.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter 3! Thank you guys for the helpful reviews .**

Beast Boy stared as the door for a moment as she walked out. What was he supposed to make of this? He paced his room and mulled over what the heck was going on. First Adonis showed up in her room and now she was having intense nightmares (he smiled just a little when he remembered how she was screaming his name). It wasn't abnormal for her to have random mood swings or to even have a nervous. Except for that time when her father wanted to take over the world and stuff… What could possibly make her just as terrified?

He thought of his words from last night that he said to her. He would never ever let anything happen to her if he could control it. He knew something was up and it pained him to see her so distressed. He wanted to do something about it, but that was nearly impossible because she doesn't let anyone get close to her. The corners of his mouth pulled into a puzzled frown as he tried to come up with a way to discreetly confront her about the strange occurrences or even to just figure out what is going on with her emotionally.

Beast Boy froze when he heard harsh knocking on the door. _How long have I been up?_ He asked himself as he turned to the clock and saw that it read 7:28, just over an hour since Raven left. "Yo BB! C'mon! Open up!" Beast Boy let out a long breath of relief when he heard the familiar voice of his best friend, Cyborg.

He ran to the door to let Cyborg in who had a similar grin to match Beast Boy's. "Where'd Raven go?" he asked as he looked around Beast Boy's room. "Uhhh!" Beast Boy had to think quickly because he knew that Rae… Raven wouldn't want her recent incident announced to anyone. It was bad enough for her that he knew. "She went to meditate!" _There_, he thought _nothing out of the ordinary! I'm technically not lying._

"Oh, okay. Why are you so… jumpy…?" Cyborg questioned.

"It's just really early and I didn't get much sleep last night," he responded with the slightest stab of guilt for lying to his friend.

"Aw, sorry man. Robin wanted me to wake you guys up. So… what happened last night?" he asked with a snicker.

"You know, that wasn't very funny! You HAD to push the idea."

"Oh c'mon! You were excited and you know it! In fact, everyone knew it."

"Still not funny," Beast Boy pouted.

"BB and Raven sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" he teased softly.

"Uggghhhh! Stooop!" squeaked Beast Boy.

Cyborg followed Beast Boy all the way to the kitchen laughing while Beast Boy had his arms crossed and a beet red face. When they walked into the kitchen, Robin and Starfire were sitting hand and hand at the table talking to each other in soft love-filled whispers. Robin straightened when he saw the two walk in. "Thanks for getting Beast Boy up Cyborg, but where's Raven?" he asked without the slightest dim of concern as he stood up. Beast Boy stiffened just a little, but luckily no one seemed to notice.

"Whoa, whoa man! Calm down, she's meditatin'" Cyborg answered as Beast Boy quietly let out a sigh of relief.

"I shall go get her!" offered Starfire and before any could argue, she flew to the door to the roof.

Starfire opened the roof door with such intensity that it snapped Raven right out of her trance. "Ahhh!" Raven screamed as she fell to the floor and was abruptly pulled back into reality. She turned around quickly, getting ready to yell, but not even Raven could yell at the sweet Tamaranian when she looked into her emerald eyes swimming with kindness.

"Oh, forgive me Raven, but Robin requests our presence," she explained as she flew over quickly to help Raven up.

"Okay, thanks Starfire," muttered Raven as she picked up her tea cup.

The two walked into the kitchen where the boys were and Raven prepared herself for the worst. She kept her composure like she usually does and casually walked up to them. She couldn't help but act slightly awkward around Beast Boy. After all, she woke him up in a screaming frenzy of his name and wrecked his room. Or… put it back to the way it was.

"Good morning," she greeted everyone.

"We have to try to figure out what went wrong last night before things escalate," Robin immediately said. "Raven, do you have any leads?"

"I told you last night that I don't have a single idea about what happened nor what Adonis actually wanted."

"Fine, anything else out of the ordinary happen last night?"

Beast Boy held his breath, hoping she knew that he kept her secret.

"Not that I know of," Raven said without breaking eye contact. She hoped deeply that Beast Boy kept his mouth shut.

"Okay, so what should we do to figure this out?" he said more to think aloud than to take suggestions. "I searched all night and nothing…" he concluded with internal defeat.

Starfire gently put an arm around him "Do not worry Robin. We are prepared for anything."

"Dude, can we worry about this later? I'm staaaarivng!" Beast Boy whimpered.

Cyborg rolled his human eye and slapped him in the back of the head.

"Sorry…" he said meekly.

"I suppose we should eat something first. Don't worry about me. I already ate. I'm going back to my room to look more." Robin stated as he stalked off to his room.

"Okay, who wants eggs and bacon?" shouted Cyborg.

"Cyborg, I'm not even going to argue with you anymore about this! I've told you a thousand times that I don't ever want meat! I. AM. A. VEGITARIAN!" Beast Boy shouted back angrily.

Cyborg continued to laugh as he started cooking his choice of breakfast while Beast Boy hastily made his own assortment of non-meat products for breakfast. Raven sat down at the table with her tea cup and stirred whatever liquid was left. She would rather not have to listen to the two of them fight over breakfast again! They started giving her a headache, but she wouldn't dare venture back into her room because she knew a colossal mess awaited her and right now, she didn't have the patience to deal with it.

"Hey," came a soft voice from in front of her.

She looked up from her tea and saw Beast Boy sitting across from her smiling.

"Hi," she responded, looking back down at her mug and took a sip, but was disappointed to feel how cold the liquid got.

"How are you feeling?" he asked while biting into his food.

"I'm fine."

"No you're not…"

She sighed, got up from the table, put her cold tea in the sink, and sat herself down on the couch. Cyborg finished up his breakfast and went into the garage to work on his T-car before more orders came from Robin to continue in the search. Starfire also left the room to help her boyfriend in his room and hopefully calm him down. Beast Boy sat at the table and wondered how this was going to work. He tried! _But not hard enough_ he thought to himself as he too got up from the table, put his dish and utensils in the sink, and sat down about a foot to her right on the couch.

"Uhhh, wanna play video games?" he asked eagerly.

She looked at him in an exasperated matter and quickly responded, "no."

"C'mon Rae! Just one game! You've never even tried it!"

"Do you have to bug me today?" she asked in an extremely vexed tone.

"Well… if you'd just play- Hey!" he said as she got off the couch and started walking away.

His ears drooped and his eyes filled with sadness partly from his failure and from the rejection… Suddenly, he jolted back up with a smile and snapped his fingers. He morphed into an octopus and outstretched his tentacle. He wrapped it around her and pulled her back to the couch.

"Beast Boy! Let go!" she yelled furiously in protest.

When she got back to the couch, Beast Boy morphed back and shoved the controller in her hand as he grabbed one for himself.

"Just try it," he nearly whispered inches from her ear.

Raven quickly pulled up her hood and crossed her arms.

"Whatever," she said through clenched teeth and under her breath.

Beast Boy smiled brightly as he turned on the television to see the title of the video game in huge, red letters across the screen.

"Okay, I'll be the green car and you can be the blue one," he explained.

"Yippie," replied Raven in a monotone.

He ignored her sarcastic remark and further explained the object of the game and controls.

"So, this stick is how you steer and this button right here, this is how you accelerate. What you want to do is speed around the track as fast as you can and go through as many rings as possible and dodge a whole bunch of obstacles. It seems really simple, but it's actually kinda hard! So don't be upset when you lose because you're just a first timer, but I'm a pro," he finished with his chest puffed out and a smug grin.

"Just start the game," Raven said after a two second pause without looking at him.

"Fine, fine, fine. I'll go easy on you at first," he assured her.

The game started and Beast Boy leaned forward in an intense stance and was rapidly moving the controls. Raven, just sat there and easily glided her fingers across the controller with minimal effort. The game flashed in their eyes rapidly and finally, it was over.

"How did you do that?" Beast Boy asked in shock at the screen that read "Player 2 wins".

"I guess I'm just a natural," Raven sarcastically said as she looked up at Beast Boy, almost laughing at his ridiculous face.

"I can't believe you beat me! Rematch!" he said and started the game again before Raven could put in a word of protest except for a frustrated, harsh blow from her lips up into her hair.

"Okay, do you _really_ want to try that again?" asked Raven about a half hour or twelve games later.

"But… how?" asked Beast Boy in complete astonishment after losing every game.

This time Raven actually did let out a small giggle and Beast Boy began laughing his normal loud laughter. They looked at each other and only continued to laugh at the absurdity of the event. Beast Boy more laughed from his happiness at getting Raven to relax and she was smiling. No… laughing!

"I had no idea that you could play like that Rae!"

"I don't play video games and don't call me Rae."

"… Rae…" he teased with a shy smirk.

"RaVEN," she corrected with a suppressed giggle.

"Guys! I have more word on Adonis!" came Robin's voice.

Both Beast Boy and Raven looked back and saw the Boy Wonder waving his arms around with Starfire close at his side.

Beast Boy disappointingly turned off the video game and turned to see Raven still seated on the couch with her eyes closed. He sat down by her side again and her eyes opened up. She pulled down her hood and whispered "thanks," to Beast Boy as she got off the couch to get to Robin.

Beast Boy smile pervaded nearly his entire face as his eyes sparkled with jubilance. "You're welcome," he whispered too softly for Raven to hear. He wasn't sure if she thanked him for keeping her secret earlier or for making her try the video games and making her laugh, or if it the payment of gratitude was for a combination of everything. Whatever it was specifically for didn't matter. The point was that he made an impact on her and made her eventually smile. What's even better is that she recognized it and was thankful. He walked over to Robin, but it honestly felt like an effortless float. He looked at her one last time and saw the secret remnants of the previous smile that she hid from the rest with a blank expression. He reluctantly turned his attention to Robin before anyone could notice.


	4. Chapter 4

Robin could barely hold in his excitement from his recent discovery. He impatiently waited for both Beast Boy and Raven to accompany him and Starfire. He contacted Cyborg on his communicator and told him to meet all of them in the meeting room. When Beast Boy and Raven got to his side, he rushed them into the large and plain room where Cyborg was already seated at the long table. The lights were extremely bright and there were no windows. The walls were a pale blue and the floor was white, square tiles and a single computer screen hung on the left wall, large enough so everyone in the room from all angles were able to see.

Robin ran to the front of the table, but didn't bother sitting down nor did he wait for anyone else to get comfortable. He felt his pulse racing from the satisfaction of the new findings of information.

"Have any of you watched the news?" he asked immediately.

The rest of the team shook their heads in unison.

"Well something extremely strange has happened concerning Adonis. He was found tied up in front of the prison along with Gizmo. Their capture is unknown and we didn't even get a signal for any kind of danger."

"Well, looks like someone is just trying to give us a vacation," chimed in Beast Boy as he crossed his arms behind his head and rested his feet on the table.

Ignoring his friend's comment, Cyborg added "Yeah that does seem really weird. Any ideas on who it is?"

"Right now, I don't have any clues," stated Robin sadly

"Please, is this random act of kindness not something … good?" asked Starfire.

"Potentially, but why would this person do something so 'good' so inconspicuously?" explained Raven.

"That's exactly what I've been thinking and anyone who can take on Gizmo and Adonis is a potential threat if their intensions are for worse," agreed Robin.

"But dude! Whoever it was threw that creep Adonis and that annoying kid Gizmo in JAIL! What would a criminal gain from throwing other criminals in jail?" wondered Beast Boy.

"Look, obviously this is up for quite a debate, but we're certainly not taking any chances," concluded Robin.

"Uhhh… how do we exactly _plan_ to figure this out boy wonder?" asked Cyborg.

Smiling slightly at the playful name calling, Robin said, "We're going down to the prison and we're going to question as many people as we possibly can to get answers. We'll ask guards, bystanders, prisoners, even Adonis and Gizmo."

With that, everyone thought quietly to themselves while Beast Boy muttered incoherently in protest.

"I'll question that snot nosed kid Gizmo," Cyborg offered breaking the silence.

"And I'll get Adonis," said Robin eagerly.

"I'll ask the people who stand by," added Starfire helpfully.

"I'll ask the police who were working at the time of the sight," said Beast Boy cooperatively.

"And that leaves me with the rest of the prisoners," concluded Raven.

"Okay, so does everyone have their assignments?"

Everyone made eye contact and a slight nod of the head.

"Let's get to the T-car," encouraged Robin.

The team walked out of the room as Cyborg and Beast Boy argued over who gets to drive (clearly, Cyborg won) and got into the leather seats of Cyborg's pride and joy. Raven had her head leaned up against the window of the car as she watched buildings, people, and trees pass by without focus; her thoughts were much too clouded. She mulled over her dream last night and tried to make sense of it. The scene was pretty clear; it was the end of the world, but why did she have such a terrible dream? He father is dead, so the prophecy never remained true. Then her mind crossed over to the part where she saw her friends in stone and her heart dropped a little. They all looked so helpless and it killed her to know that she had easily caused the destruction of the wonderful and powerful friends- no family that she had. Beast Boy. The name stabbed her. Why did she wake up screaming _his_ name? It almost scared her. She took one quick glance with just her eyes at the green changeling seated next to her and as soon as she did, his eyes immediately shot to the ground. _Why does he keep staring at me like that?_ she thought to herself as her eyes rapidly redirected out of the window. The mood in her head began to shift as she thought of how easily Beast Boy made her laugh. Today was definitely mysterious. First, Adonis comes into her room, she has a frightening dream, and then she's laughing and playing video games with Beast Boy? She softly bit her lip to keep it from quivering. Why was Beast Boy able to make her let go so easily, especially after the strange occurrences?

Before her head could further ponder the thought, Raven felt the T-car come to a smooth stop and heard everyone unbuckle. She swiftly did the same and opened her car door to step outside. The team got out of the car and stared at the colossal building in front of them. The cement bricks were painted dark brown and very few windows were spotted. The enormous fence that stood before the gloomy building had to be at least eight feet tall and the barbed wire on the top made it look extra intimidating. The titans walked toward the front while Starfire already ventured out to ask local store owners and clerks. The guards in front of the main entrance had stern faces and vigilant eyes and stood with their chests puffed out and their large guns resting across them. When the titans approached, they simply nodded and unlocked the gate to allow them in.

The titans stayed silent as they entered the long hallway entrance. Waiting patiently for their arrival, was a figure more towards the end of the corridor. As they neared each other, the figure revealed more details. Standing in an attention stance was a dark woman with her hair tightly wrapped on the back of her head. She was incredibly tall and her toned figure was outlined in her uniform.

"Hello titans, how may I help you?" she greeted them with a slight smile on her hard face.

"We're just going to ask a couple of questions. I'd like to have a talk with Adonis and Cyborg needs to talk with Gizmo. Raven is going to speak with other prisoners while Beast Boy interviews the people who work here. Does this all work out okay with you?" Robin explained.

"I don't see why there would be a problem. You and Cyborg can come with me and I'll bring you to Adonis and Gizmo. Beast Boy, if you take a right down that hallway over there, some of my coworkers are on duty and I'm sure they wouldn't mind you if they aren't up to anything at the moment. Raven; continue straight and you'll see a guard. His name is Frank; tell him Angie sent you and ask to speak with some of the prisoners. "

With that, Beast Boy went to the right, Raven continued straight, and Robin and Cyborg followed Angie. Robin looked after his teammates to make sure he knew exactly where they were going and then began preparing questions for Adonis. Angie marched on through hallway after hallway, each one brightly lit with fluorescent lights that had a constant flicker that would surely give one a headache after a while of staring. Finally, Angie came to a halt in front of two wide, light brown doors with a code pad at the front. Angie quickly punched in the numbers and once the doors opened, she took out her walkie- talkie and said into it, "Get me Adonis in room one and Gizmo in room two." After a short moment came a reply, "Sure thing."

The three stepped into the doors and it revealed a hallway with a series of rooms. Right in front of them were rooms numbered one and two. On the front wall were two windows for each room and the other three walls were white plaster with a single gray door on the back wall. The rooms were completely empty except for a pale blue, metal table in the center with two grey, metal chairs across from each other. Robin and Cyborg watched eagerly as Adonis was led into room one by a cop, and Gizmo was led by another cop into room two. Angie waited for both criminals to be seated and waited for the okay by the others. When a small wave was given by the two of them, she unlocked both doors and gestured both Cyborg and Robin to enter.

Cyborg entered the room and immediately felt chilled. He stared into the face of Gizmo who was no longer dressed in his normal attire, but the orange prison uniform. It was strange to see the little punk without his goggles and array of different electronic equipment, but Cyborg found this to be at his advantage. He could imagine how foreign this must feel for his enemy and thought that it may make his own technology built on his body a little more intimidating to the kid. As Cyborg pulled out the chair and sat down, Gizmo pulled his head up and on it was the unforgettable smirk that he always wore.

"S'up doofus?"he asked cruelly.

"I don't have times for your games Gizmo," replied Cyborg sternly.

"You want to know how Adonis and I ended up in here huh?" Gizmo inferred as he leaned in slightly.

"So, any memories that you care to share?"

"What makes you think I'm going to tell you anything snot brain?" Gizmo snorted.

"Oh, so you admit that this was a complete set up?"he hinted as he crossed his arms. This was easier than he thought.

"I never said anything to that extent!" exclaimed Gizmo a little frustrated.

"So why are you here?"

"How should I know?"

"I think you DO know!" urged Cyborg as his head leaned in to meet Gizmo's eye level.

"Well I think you're too stupid to know anything," he retorted as he raised one eyebrow.

"Look, whatever you and your dumb friend Adonis are up to, we're gonna find out," warned Cyborg in a raspy voice with his hands furiously gripping the edge of the table.

Gizmo just laughed in response.

Robin hastily walked over to Adonis, but never bothered to sit down. Adonis was lazily examining his nails as Robin approached. Being out of his huge metal suit revealed how truly scrawny he was, but he had the imperious ego to make up for the lack of muscle or height.

"So, are you going to make this easy on yourself or do I have to pry answers from you?" Robin asked immediately.

"Seriously have no idea what you're even talking about," Adonis replied without looking up at him.

"Look at me when you're talking to me!" Robin snapped as Adonis rolled up his head to reveal a sly smile. "Tell me what's been going on. I know that this all just can't be a coincidence" he continued.

"You're so sure of yourself Robin," he snickered.

"Why were you in Raven's room last night?" he asked hoping to add it all up.

"You know how she gets when people go in her room! I was the only one not scared to do it. Besides, that demon chick digs me," he stated as he smoothed back his hair and wiggled his eyebrows.

Robin felt a slight tinge of anger for Raven, but he then realized, "What do you mean you were 'the only one not scared'" he questioned.

"I didn't say that."

"Yes, yes you did! There _are_ other people involved! Look, you're going to tell me what is going on and how this is all related."

"I'm not telling you anything," Adonis responded as he over dramatically turned his head to the side.

Robin quickly moved around the table to where his gaze fell. "Stop playing around kid! I need you to tell me what's going on! What are you, and whoever else is involved, planning?"

"I don't know what you're talking about dude."

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to sit here and wait until you do," pledged Robin as he marched back to his original position across from Adonis, pulled out the chair, leaned back, and put his feet on the table all the while staring Adonis down.

"You know Robin, you're wasting your time sitting here trying to get me to talk. I'm not spilling any information. What you should really be doing is getting other bits that actually _can_ help you out."

Robin rubbed his temples in extreme aggravation. This was getting nowhere and he knew that to some degree, the worthless Adonis was right. He just strongly hoped that things were going differently for the rest of the team otherwise this was a complete waste of time.

"Fine," Robin finally said. "Then you can go back to your miserable jail cell."

Adonis put his head down as Robin motioned the assisting officer to escort him out.

"Alright Adonis, you have one more visitor for today, but for now we'll bring you back to the cell."

Robin's ears perked up at this new information. He watched as the officer took Adonis away and began thinking. He wasn't over just yet.

Starfire watched her friends trudge into the depressing building and shuddered slightly. She was more than happy that she wasn't required to go in there. After the darkness seemed to swallow them, she turned to look at the block across from her. For the most part, it was pretty desolate except for a small convenience store that looked a little run down, but she knew that she better start there.

Her feet lifted off the ground and she carried herself through the air to the front doors of the store. When she stepped down, the doors automatically opened and she stepped inside to be greeted with the cool breeze from the air conditioning. She cautiously looked around and tried to pick out anything suspicious. When nothing was detected, she searched for an employee to interview. Her eyes fell on the only person working the cashier. He was young and had red-brown hair and light brown eyes and an eyebrow ring. He rested his head lazily in his hand on the counter. He was seated on a black, tall stool and he surly looked like he hasn't seen many customers all day.

"Uhm, excuse me," Starfire politely began and waved.

"Yeah, how can I help you?" he asked almost irritated without looking up.

"I was wondering, if you were not too busy, can I ask you a question or two?"

"Busy? Oh please, I'm never busy. What can I do for you?" he said sarcastically.

Starfire shot him her winning smile and asked "do you know anything about the arrest of Adonis and Gizmo?"

'Nadda," he quickly replied.

"Please, you did not see what happened?"

"The two were dropped off very late last night. I'm only here during the day shift," he explained.

"So you were not working this day shift during the time of their arrival?"

"That's the idea."

"Oh, but do you have the names of who was working or who could have seen any of these strange happenings."

"No, I don't."

"Well, perhaps there is _something_ that you can help me with?"

"We do have a store video camera that does look out on the prison and I'm sure we have the tape."

Her face instantly lit up as she gasped in delight, "Thank you, thank you! May my team and I borrow this tape from the camera that takes videos?"

"No, I'm not allowed to give it to you," he denied her grumpily.

"Maybe you can be so kind to allow me to speak to the person who has this authority," she said with a smile.

"Maybe you can be so kind to leave me alone. I have no way of contacting that person," he mocked her.

"Excuse me, but I do not appreciate your rude words and I strongly suggest-"

"Take a hike princess," he interrupted.

Suddenly, Starfire became enraged as her eyes started to glow green. She was tired of his games and no longer wished to reason with him. The team needed that tape and she wasn't about to let them down at any cost. The boy finally looked up at the Tamaranian and gawked at her furry.

"I suggest you show me to that room before I have to tear at every corner of this store until I find it myself!" she roared over the counter.

He trembled as he got off of his stool and without another word, showed her where the video room was. Without even being asked, he took out the tape for her and held it out in front of him for her to take. Her arm outstretched with a green orb surrounding her fist as she reached for the tape. Suddenly, her eyes went back to normal and her green energy rested. On her face was a bright, gracious smile as she stared into the face of the terrified teen.

"Thank you and have a great day," she said as she waved good-bye to him, carrying the tape happily.

Raven walked down the hallway until she saw Frank. He was in his mid-forties it looked like, with thinning hair. He wore dark sunglasses and had a five o'clock shadow. He stiffened when he saw Raven and asked where she was going.

"Hi, you must be Frank?"

"That's me."  
"Angie told me to ask for your help. I need to speak with some of your prisoners."

"Okay young lady, follow me," he cooperated as he led her through the rest of the hall and into a door with a lock.

"Here's where we keep the criminals. I can set you up by the visitor section if you'd like," he offered politely.

"That will work fine, thanks."

Raven stood in the doorway and waited for him to wave her on as he whistled cheerfully to himself.

"It's all set," he called.

Raven followed the voice and sat down in a cold, metal chair in front of a glass pane with a phone attached to the side and an identical one on the other side of the glass. She smirked when she saw who was sitting in front of her. It was Dr. Light shivering in her presence.

"Hey, I guess you remember me quite clearly," she laughed.

"W-w-w-what do you want?" he asked terrified.

"I want to know everything you know about Gizmo and Adonis."

"I know n-n-n-nothing."

"Are you sure?" she hissed as she pulled down her hood and her eyes glowed white.

"No! I s-s-s-swear, I kn-n-n-now nothing!" he screeched and dropped the phone, biting his nails.

Raven looked at him disappointingly and gave the approval for Frank to carry him away. Next, a very large figure appeared in front of her with long red hair.

"Hi Control Freak," she sighed.

"Hello arch-nemesis Raven!"

"So, I don't suppose you know anything about Adonis or Gizmo," she said as she rolled her eyes.

"I do not, but when I do, I will make sure we take you and the rest of the titans down once and for all!" he shouted in the room and into the phone followed by maniacal laughter.

Raven hung up the phone without waiting for him to finish and banged her head on the small ledge in front of her repeatedly in frustration. Without being asked to, Frank escorted him out. _This is going to be a long day_ Raven thought in dread.

Beast Boy found himself in a dark room with a bunch of cops watching camera screens, listening to radio conversations, and talking into walkie-talkies. He wasn't sure how he was going to start, nor how he was going to even approach the right questions. He went to the first person he saw and began asking away.

"Hey dude! I was wondering if you knew anything about Adonis and Gizmo turning up last night?"

"Sorry kiddo, I don't have any leads."

"No biggy! Hey you! Do you know anything about Adonis or Gizmo?" he asked a blonde woman intensely listening to orders on her radio.

"Shhhh!" she replied with her finger to her lips without removing her gaze from the device.

"Oh… sorry," he whispered. He turned his head to a man with thick black hair. "Hi, do you have-"

"No," he said without allowing Beast Boy to finish.

"Okay, _fine_! Does _anybody_ know _anything_ about the appearance of Adonis or Gizmo?" he fumed.

"I was there that night," a shy voice came from behind him.

Beast Boy turned around and there was a woman who was a little on the short side and had curly dark brown hair. She was one of the most beautiful girls Beast Boy has ever seen, but of course, only one of the most beautiful… He honestly wasn't too distracted by her thick lips or crystal eyes; he was more eager to get information.

"You- you were?"

"Uhm, yeah. Do you need me to ask you some questions?"

"I guess… just tell me what happened that night," he said as he led her to a more private part of the room.

"Okay, well" she began. "I was sitting in here, watching that screen up there. It was very late and it was kind of windy, so I wasn't so quick to react to every sound out of the ordinary. I guess I never heard anything approach the building, but the next thing I knew, I saw three dark figures appear on the roof and they looked like they were having a conversation or something, but I don't know. I quickly ran out there myself to see what was going on. As soon as I got to the front, I saw only two of the figures abruptly fall from the roof. I screamed and jumped back, but then got closer when I realized they weren't moving. I bent down to see who they were and saw that they were unconscious. I quickly took out my flashlight on the roof to see if I could catch the final figure, but all I saw was the figure lift from a crouch and flee. I'm sorry, but that is all I know," she finished and looked at Beast Boy a little nervously.

"Okay, thank you. That was a really big help. Do you recall anything else?"

"No, that's it. I'm glad I could helpful and if I remember anything else, I know how to contact you," she said as she flashed a smile.

Beast Boy returned a warm smile and blushed just a little bit and finally waved goodbye.

He left the crowded room and returned to the hallway where he came to find the others. He didn't want to contact them on the communicator for fear that he would interrupt something important. Beast Boy began to wonder about how Raven was holding up. He hoped she wasn't too distraught from the crazy things happening to her. Most of all, he was hoping that she was safe because interviewing basically enemy central wasn't the safest task. The team nearly through every one of these creeps in jail and they would surly want to hurt any one of them if the opportunity came. He continued to walk at a quicker pace when he noticed Starfire walking in his direction.

"Hey Star," he called.

"Friend Beast Boy, what success did today bring you?" she asked when they got closer.

"A girl who was there the night of told me what she witnessed," he said with pride, but also felt a little foolish that he didn't ask for her name.

"Yes! That is very useful! I have obtained a tape form a camera that took a video of last night's occurrences," she beamed.

"Good! Let's go find Raven," he said as he pivoted on his heel to walk in the direction of where he saw her last.

"Okay, but what about our friends Robin and Cyborg?" she asked a little concerned.

"Oh, them too. I just, ya know, thought since Raven would be closer and all…" Beast Boy floundered to find an excuse, but he honestly wasn't sure why he was trying so hard to cover it up.

"Okay Beast Boy," she giggled and followed him.

Raven just finished up with Mad Mod and was very disappointed that that was the last of them. She had gone virtually no where interviewing nearly every criminal in the entire jail! This was completely pointless and a waste of time. Raven sighed and got up to walk away. By the time Frank got back in the room, she was already half way to the door with her back turned to him.

"Wait young lady, we have one more prisoner here if you want to talk to him."

"Who?" she asked without facing him.

"His name is a strange one. Uhm… Malchior," he struggled with the pronunciation.

The sudden drop in her stomach almost made her tear. There was no way she was going to have another conversation with him for as long as she lived. Her face tensed up and her fists clenched.

"No, that's fine," she said after a short silence and stormed out of the room. As she continued her walk down the hallway, she suddenly saw Beast Boy charging toward her.

"Raven! What's up?" he greeted her and immediately came to a halt when he saw her face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. This was a waste of time," she stated coldly.

The three continued to walk on in silence, but before they could reach Cyborg or Robin, another teenager waltzed by as if he had the world feeding from his hands. His face had a strong jaw line and his eyes were about as green as Beast Boy's. His hair was pitch black and hung down smoothly to the middle of his face and framed it quite nicely. The heart-throbbing teen walked by the group and looked at Raven up and down.

"Hey girl, what would a guy like me have to do to take a girl like you out on a late night date?" he obnoxiously asked and finished with a wink.

"Dream about it," she said through clenched teeth.

"What did you just say to her? You better apologize for what you just said or I will make you regret the day you were born!" Beast Boy warned in a low with his hands angrily balled into fists and his face red as a tomato.

"Whoa, whoa man chill. I didn't mean to hit on your girlfriend," he said in an arrogant joking matter.

"He is _not_ my boyfriend, and I recommend you leave," Raven stepped in with her arms crossed trying with every ounce of her to not lose control of her emotions even though she wanted so desperately to blast him into another dimension.

"So, I'll take that as a maybe."

"Just go," she said getting a little too agitated for her control.

The boy shrugged his shoulders with a smile and walked away.

"Yeah, you _better_ keep walking," Beast Boy called after him.

"You need to calm down," Raven said as she turned to Beast Boy.

"You expect me to stand here and listen to that scum talk to you like that?"

"I was handling it on my own just fine."

"Friends! We must not argue like this," chimed in Starfire trying to cool the tension.

Suddenly Robin and Cyborg walked to where they were standing and quickly rushed over to see what the problem was.

"Hey! Guys, break it up," came Robin's voice urgently.

"We don't have time for this, we've all gotta share what information we've got today," added Cyborg.

"Sorry," both Beast Boy and Raven said not to each other, but to the rest of the team for taking up time.

Robin sighed and turned to Starfire, "did you find anything?" he asked her as he gently wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Yes friends! I have gotten this tape that shows what happened last night from the perspective of the store just across the street," she announced with pride.

"Good work," he congratulated her. "What about you Beast Boy?"

"Well, I talked to this girl, I don't remember her name, but she told me about what she saw last night," he said a little cooled down.

"That's very helpful. What about you?" he asked making eye contact with Raven.

"Nothing," she spat disappointed in herself.

"That's okay, I'm sure we have about as much information that we need," he assured her as he put a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from feeling so down.

"Robin, what did you find?" wondered Starfire sweetly.

"Well, turns out that Adonis has another visitor today. I don't know if you guys saw him, he came down this way. He has black hair and-"

"Oh we saw him alright," interrupted Beast Boy in a raspy voice, getting charged up again.

"Okay, well I saw him too and I bugged him. Whatever he's saying is already being recorded back at the tower," he concluded.

"I think it's time we went home now anyway," said Cyborg tiredly.

With that, the team left the despairing prison and retreated in the T-car and drove home.

**Hey guys, sorry that this chapter is so long! I had a lot more to the chapter, but I split it into a second one. I hope you guys don't mind the wait. Thank you for your helpful reviews! **


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as the team entered the tower, they immediately reported to the meeting room. They surly had a lot to discuss and none of them wanted to waste any time. When they all took their seats, Beast Boy was the first to announce what information he collected. He recited what the girl said nearly word for word.

"Okay, so she said that she didn't see anything else?" asked Robin.

"Nope, that's all she said."

"Well, according to slip-ups by both Gizmo and Adonis, this is certainly no coincidence," reported Cyborg.

"Yeah, Adonis even said that he was the only one brave enough to go into your room Raven," added Robin who thought it would be best to leave out the details of Adonis mentioning his wishful thinking of Raven.

"So obviously, there are other people involved. Spectacular," Raven said derisively.

"Yes, but who?" brought up Starfire.

"Well, let's see that videotape of yours Star," suggested Cyborg.

"Glorious!" she said excitedly as Cyborg took the tape from her and inserted it into the computer for them to watch.

"Okay, well Adonis came into Raven's room around 2:30 AM, so fast forward the tape to that time," said Robin.

Cyborg complied and they watched the prison very carefully. The quality wasn't the greatest and it was extremely dark. Also, since the store wasn't very close to the prison it made the scene difficult to depict. At the time of 2:37, they watched in shock as a figure made its way to the top of the roof. The figure just paced back and forth until 2:48 when they saw Gizmo riding his helicopter backpack, carrying Adonis. The three stood next to each other and they saw Adonis hand something to the mysterious figure. They had a short conversation it looked like and then the figure began to tie up Gizmo and Adonis without a single struggle. Then they watched as another figure appeared on the ground level and watched as Adonis and Gizmo were dropped. The figure on the bottom was without a doubt the girl that Beast Boy was talking to because it fit in with the story that she told, but then things began to drift from her story. The third figure jumped down and began to talk with the girl. The conversation lasted for quite a bit of time and then the mysterious figure left in a sprint. The girl took out something (most likely her walkie-talkie because she was talking into it) and a group of other guards dragged the bodies into the prison. After that, the front of the building stayed vacant.

The team sat in silence for a couple of seconds as they recollected everything they saw on the tape.

"Why would she lie to me?" asked Beast Boy referring to the girl he interviewed with confusion.

"She must be some sort of spy, yes?" inferred Starfire.

"Clearly, she's corrupting the police and making sure their plan is working from the inside," Robin thought out loud.

"We can't make any rash assumptions just yet. Let's listen to that tape; it's been about two hours since you've bugged him Robin," directed Cyborg as he glided his fingers over the keyboard on the computer to set up the audio.

"I'm sure whatever he said to Adonis will help us out," he agreed as his mask shifted into a more intense expression.

The recording began with loud shifting noises, most likely from Robin carefully attaching it to his shirt. When the shifting stopped, his loud whistling over powered most other noises in the background.

Suddenly, another voice softly appeared on the microphone, "sir, where do you think you're going?"

"Chill man. I'm just going to visit a friend in prison. I have the shinny visitors pass right here," he flippantly replied.

"Just go," the other voice said rather annoyed. A smug laugh by the teen was sounded and then silence except for the occasional whistle or hums.

"Ah damn," he whispered in a breath of satisfaction.

After about ten seconds, he said, "Hey girl, what would a guy like me have to do to take a girl like you out on a late night date?"

Raven quickly lifted her hood over her face and stared down at the table with no expression at all. She felt the heat of anger and embarrassment coming from Beast Boy who was sitting one seat after Cyborg next to her. _Just great_, she thought in sincere frustration.

As the recording of the argument went on, Beast Boy's face went from green to red in a fraction of a second. He bit his bottom lip as he slowly sunk lower and lower into his seat while the energy from the anger inside of him took its form of his hands gripping the sides of his chair tight enough to break it. He kicked Cyborg in the leg when he heard him snickering after the recording said "I didn't mean to hit on your girlfriend." _Why must I live through this again? If I ever see him again, I swear I'm going to knock him out!_

Both Beast Boy and Raven felt a little foolish after they heard Robin tapping his fingers impatiently on the table as he listened to the argument. The two of them refused to make any eye contact with anyone for the rest of the recording.

After about two minutes another distant voice that Raven immediately recognized as Frank asked, "Can I help you?"

"Hey, I'm Victor and I have a visitor's appointment with Adonis."

"Yes, yes, I've been expecting you. C'mon in son," Frank said casually.

After another two minutes or so, a voice appeared on almost a radio setting (because it came over the phone). "Hey lil' bro," came Adonis's voice.

"I told you never to call me that!"

"My bad," Adonis snorted.

"So, after I dropped you guys off last night, what happened?"

"Well, we were brought into the prison and all of our electronics were taken. I thought Gizmo was gonna cry! Then we were thrown in our jail cells. This morning, the titans came to interrogate us and stuff, so we were careful not to tell a single person our plans 'cause we were afraid that someone would slip. I was questioned by the spiky haired, know-it-all Robin while that freak Cyborg had Gizmo. That's all that really happened."

"Man, speakin' of the titans, I saw that hottie Raven walkin' by. No wonder you have a thing for her!"

Raven rolled her eyes and held back her emotions while Beast Boy's eyes filled with rage and tried everything in his power not to get up and attack Victor _and_ Adonis now.

"I told you! Man, I know she digs me," replied Adonis.

"We'll see about that 'cause I think I've gotta shot with her. I ain't givin' up until I get some of that," Victor said shamelessly.

Raven sat in her seat and felt her cheeks burning. At this point she was debating on just getting up and leaving, but she knew she had to stay here and listen to the recording. Every. Second. Of. It. Beast Boy nearly rose out of his chair when he heard that last part. He was fuming now, so he just kept his gaze straight down on the table trying to refocus his mind. Robin felt a little guilty for making Raven sit through this. He knew too well that this was killing her, but he also knew that she'd understand why they all had to listen to this vital conversation. Raven was very sacrificial like that.

"Blah, blah, blah. You don't even know what you're talkin' about," Adonis replied.

"Look, enough about that, we need to figure out how this is gonna work," rushed Victor.

"Are you meeting up with Julie at some point?"

"Yeah, that's what I came here to talk to you about. I'm meetin' her tomorrow night at the local club. We'll discuss everything there and she'll help you guys out. In the mean time, find a way to tell everyone about this 'cause we could use all the help we can get. The more we have, the easier it will be for the boss to get himself and us exactly what we want."

"Luckily, there's nothin' the titans can really do about it. You gave him the weapon?"

"Oh yes I did and he was more than pleased."

"Okay, so you'll meet up with Julie and I'll let Gizmo know that we should spread the word."

"Just be careful of who you tell and make sure none of the cops hear you."

"No problamo dude! We'll keep in touch."

"Sure thing," Victor finished and a soft click followed which signaled the end of what the titans had to investigate.

"We have to go to that club tomorrow night and see who this Julie is and try to trick either of them into spilling information," demanded Robin.

"But why in a club? That seems, what you say, foolish, right?" wondered Starfire.

"Actually, not at all," began Raven as everyone was shocked to even hear her speak. "The club is a perfect place because it's dark, there's a ton of noise to drown out your conversation, and everyone around you is too preoccupied to even notice something strange going on," she concluded.

"Raven's right and I think _we'd_ be the foolish ones if we don't go see what this is about," agreed Cyborg.

"Who is this boss that Victor mentioned?" brought up Beast Boy.

"I'll bet you that we'll find that out once we go under cover tomorrow," said Robin with certainty.

"Is that it?" asked Cyborg who was about to shut down the computer.

"Yeah, that's all we have," Robin concluded.

"Alright y'all! I'm gonna go eat something," said Cyborg excitedly.

The rest of the team got up and Raven left the room quicker than all of them. Beast Boy stared after her and felt sorry for her. Sure it was bothering him, but he imagined how she must have felt. _Why isn't everyone else flipping out over this? Why am I the only one this furious for my friend?_ Suddenly, he smiled wide and thought of an idea, he called over Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg.

Raven quickly floated down the hallway and made her way to the roof. She had to meditate and quickly. Her emotions got too out of hand today and she had to calm herself down before they built up. She felt the urge to vomit when she thought of the way Victor and Adonis were talking about her. It was just plain disgusting and disrespectful. Then she thought of the way Beast Boy reacted. _What was it to him? Why does he even care so much? It was _her_ they were talking about, not him!_ She became a little angry with him for thinking she couldn't handle it on her own and Victor thought they were _dating?_ She shook away her blush and sat cross legged in the air. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she repeated until she felt complete serenity…

About an hour or two later, Raven opened up her relaxed eyes to see the sun just about to disappear. It was getting late and she thought it would be best to get to sleep early. She avoided going into the living room because she didn't want to talk to anyone right now; especially not Beast Boy. She just wanted to go straight to her room, clean it up just a bit, and go to bed while her mind was still clear.

She softly floated down the hallway instead of walking so that no one would hear her coming by. Much to her dismay, her attempt was in vain because she saw Starfire walking straight towards her. Starfire gasped and, for a split second, had an expression of worry.

"Friend Raven, how nice to see you! Will you …uh… help me perform a much difficult style of the hair that I've been trying to practice?"

"Starfire, I'm a bit tired. I think I'm just going to head to my room and-"

"No, you must help me!" insisted Starfire as she grabbed her pale arm and pulled her towards her own room.

"Please Starfire, not tonight. I will tomorrow if you still want me to," she begged.

"But… uhhhh… tomorrow will be much too late!" she tried.

"Too late for what?" asked Raven a little concerned.

"Uh… Robin and I are going on a trip of romance in a little while."

"It's pretty late though," said Raven skeptically.

"No, no it is not. It is never too late for a date of romance," she laughed nervously.

"Starfire, what's going on?" she asked as her eyes narrowed.

"Nothing! Nothing is amiss friend! Why would you think such a thing?" she replied in a high voice frantically.

"Gee, maybe because your voice suddenly went up an octave and you're nervously laughing."

"Well on my planet, today is uhm… Volthoj… the day of different voices," she finished in a very low, raspy voice.

"As funny as it is to watch you try to cover something up, I have to go to bed."

Starfire reluctantly let go of her arm and tried to think fast.

"Ohhh, my ankle," cried Starfire dramatically with a huge thud as she hit the ground.

"Oh brother," whispered Raven under her breath. "What's wrong Starfire?"

"I think I have accidently put my ankle in an irregular position. It hurts terribly," she whined on the floor.

"Let me look at it," she said in a monotone.

"Why thank you good friend!"

"Starfire, it's fine," Raven suspected after a minute of examining it.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes," she replied a little exasperated as she got up to leave.

"No, wait!" Starfire cried as she jumped in front of her.

"Hmm, looks like your ankle is feeling better."

"Oh, yes Raven. It is because you are a wonderful healer!"

"I didn't do anything to it."

"Right, well… do you wish to eat some of my food?"

"Starfire look, I will hang out with you tomorrow if you still want, but right now I just want to get to my room and go to bed," she said with a touch of anger as she walked off to her room.

"Wait! Raven, do you wish to have the girl talk?" Starfire called after her.

Raven just ignored her and was inches from her door when Starfire blocked it.

"Don't go in there yet. The night is still young and there is so much that we can do before it is time for the unconscious rest," she said frantically.

"Starfire, please move," she said as she tried to reach for her door.

"No! You must not!"

Raven tried with all her strength to open the door, but Starfire's Tamaranian strength prevented her.

"Just… let me… go… to bed," Raven got out between breaths.

Starfire began to feel guilty for being annoying, so she reluctantly let Raven pass. The door slid open and Raven fell flat on her face inside. She furiously looked up and saw the rest of the team frozen in their tracks. She turned her head side to side and realized that they were cleaning up her room. She slowly stood up as the rest of the team waited for her explosive reaction. They knew quite well that she detested anyone to step foot in her room. Suddenly, her expression softened and, to everyone's astonishment, she smiled. A sigh of relief from everyone filled the room as she walked over to them.

"You guys did all of this for me?" she asked with sincere gratitude.

"Well we knew you were having a very rough day and when Beast Boy suggested that we fix up your room, we couldn't resist," answered Robin who put his hand on her shoulder with a wide smile. Raven always admired how he was like an older brother to her.

"Wait, Beast Boy suggested you guys to do this?"

Beast Boy looked a little panic, "Uhhh… yeah Rae..ven! Ven! I meant to say Raven!"

He was interrupted by her small and breathy laugh, "well thank you."

"You're thanking me? Twice in one day?" he asked as his eyes sparkled.

"What I think BB is tryin' to say is, we hope you like your room," Cyborg snickered.

"Thanks a lot guys," she said meekly.

"Not a problem friend Raven!" came Starfire's voice.

"Really…? Volthoj?" asked Raven sarcastically as Starfire laughed and everyone else looked a little confused.

"I think we should let Raven get her rest," said Robin kindly.

The rest of the team followed as Raven stared after them with a smile. She was overwhelmed by their true kindness and was so happy to have friends like them. She took another look around her room and saw that nearly everything was back to the way it originally was. There were some books left on the floor, probably because they never got the chance to finish before she walked in. She walked over to her book shelf and began putting them back in place.

Suddenly, she thought of Beast Boy and how he was the one to suggest such a nice thing. Even after the argument they had, he still found the time to do something nice for her. She sighed at the thought of how often they argue. Out of everyone on the team, she argued with him the most, but still relied on him the most. She confessed to herself a while back that she truly did have feelings for the changeling, but she would always push him away because it scared her. It scared her that he was able to shift her emotions so quickly, and she was terrified that she may really hurt him one day. A piece of her always knew she had feelings for him, but they died away a little when Terra showed up. The jealousy never went away, but she tried to deny any feelings she had for him. She remembered how heartbroken he was when she turned out to be a spy and even worse when she turned to stone. She knew he would always have feelings for the cute blonde, and depressingly thought that those feelings made no room for any about her. Maybe it was for the best because Raven knew she was no good for such a cheerful and good hearted person like Beast Boy. It broke her heart, but it was better than breaking his. She remembered how she hugged him after he comforted her from her own heartbreak with Malchior. How could she be so foolish to let herself open up like that? Her emotions are dangerous and she had to be more careful, especially around Beast Boy.

She was nearly on the verge of actual tears from her own confessions. She hadn't thought about this in a long time and to have it resurface like this made a stinging pain in her chest. Just like every other emotion, she had to ignore this one. So far, so good because the feelings nearly disappeared. She didn't care for him that way anymore right? There was just now way it's possible! Then she lifted her head up and thought it would be best to visit Nevermore. She was about to walk over to her dresser when there was a soft knock on her door.

"Hello?" she asked trying to cover up the weakness in her voice.

"Hey Raven, it's me Beast Boy."

Her heart nearly imploded at the sound of his voice. She pulled up her hood and walked over to her door to open it.

"Hey Raven," Beast Boy greeted her as she opened up the door. He was a little disappointed that her hood was up, but decided to go on and ignore it.

"Hi."

"I just wanted to apologize about today. I didn't mean to embarrass you, I just couldn't stand the way he was talking to you," he confessed with a sigh.

"It's okay Beast Boy. I shouldn't have over reacted. You were just trying to help me out and I took it for granted," she replied with sad eyes.

"Nah, Rae, it's alright. I just shouldn't have been so protective," he said looking at her. To look into her eyes, he almost had to look down.

"Beast Boy, don't worry about it. We're both in the fault here. Thank you again for my room," she finished with a smile.

"No problem!" he said excitedly smiling back.

"Well, good night then," she replied about to close the door.

"Good night," he answered with his eyes filled with joy.

She finally closed the door and after five seconds, she heard Beast Boy's footsteps travel down the hallway and heard his door softly open and click closed.

She smiled to herself as she removed her cloak and thought she should just visit Nevermore tomorrow as she climbed into bed and hoped for a good night's sleep without any nightmares. Of course, it was just wishful thinking.


	6. Chapter 6

Raven suddenly felt herself fall hard on the something. When she took a quick look around her surroundings, she realized she was lying flat on a street in Jump City. She lifted her head and felt pain shoot down her neck. Surrounding her was a large crowd of citizens and they all stared bug eyed at her. Raven didn't know what was going on or why these people were staring at her. When she lifted herself up, the crowd immediately took a step back. She felt their extreme terror, so she let her fists glow with black energy and searched for the source of their fears. The blue of the sky was thickly hidden by masses of dark clouds and there was a thin layer of fog growing around her and the crowd. She twisted her body around and behind her, she saw her friends in a fighting stance. She let out a small breath of relief, thankful to see them.

"Hey guys, what's going-" she began to ask, but never finished because she was blown back down by Cyborg's cannon. When she opened up her eyes, Robin was already in the air with his leg hovering just over her stomach. She quickly rolled over and stood up as she felt harsh blasts from Starfire's bolts.

"Guys! What are you doing?" she asked frantically.

"There's no getting away from us now!" cried Cyborg with a grin.

"Starfire, please! Tell me what's going on!"

"I thought you were our friend!" she screeched.

"Robin! What happened?"

"We have to throw you in jail just like any other criminal," he replied in an ice cold voice.

She tried to call to them; reason with them. If only they could just tell her what was going on. Why would her dearest friends try to kill her? Unless… her emotions finally got the better of her. This was one of her worst fears, but how could all of this suddenly come true? What even happened?

Out of the fog, she squinted her eyes and saw Beast Boy staring at her. She didn't know what hurt her more in his array of emotions both played out on his face and swimming in the vibes she got from him; the anger, the fear, or the disappointment? She shook her head as she neared him. "No," she kept whispering under her breath. As she got closer, he just stiffened and it jabbed her in her core.

"Beast Boy, you'll talk to me right? What's going on?" she asked one more time with tears collecting in the corners of her eyes.

"You're just a monster," he whispered looking away from her. Those last words cut into her deeply and felt even worse as she felt not only her heart, but his too, shatter into unfixable pieces.

"No," she began to cry. "I'm not, I'm not a monster!" she yelled.

"Oh really? Take a look!" demanded Robin as he pushed her to a rearview mirror on the nearest car.

Raven gasped and the tears began to spill even harder. She expected to see her large violet eyes staring back at her and in them, a pool of terror and concern, but what she saw instead was something that she feared the most. Now, she had four slits for eyes in two pairs of two stacked on each other. They were a bright red and completely piercing. Her mouth was twisted into a horrifying grin with razor sharp teeth. She resisted the sight of herself and tried to pull away, but had to suffer through the agonizing minute that Robin shoved her face toward the mirror for. She shockingly began to sob as she continued to try to close her eyes, but couldn't seem to let herself look away. When Robin let go, she fell to her knees and breathed heavily between sobs.

"I'm so sorry guys," she said as she turned her head around to see the team close behind. "So, so, so sorry," she whispered as she continued to cry.

Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her by her cloak and drag her away. She looked around in fright and saw that it was Robin dragging her to a flaming pit. In there she heard deep, guttural laughter that she recognized as her demonic father. Her friends surrounded her chanting "Traitor! Traitor!" Suddenly, the crowd followed chanting "Traitor! Traitor!"

"No! I'm not a monster! I'm not a monster! I'm not a monster! I can keep control! It won't happen again! Please, I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry!"

It was fruitless because no one heard her over the riot of chanting. She watched painfully at the expressions on her friends' faces. They all looked hurt and betrayed and it was all because of her. She worked so hard to never let anything like this happen. She didn't want her friends to realize that all she will ever be is a cold-hearted demon. A monster. Now they will have to take her down just like her disgusting father.

Raven woke up in her room in a panic. Her sheets were twisted around her legs and her hair was stuck to her neck from the sweat. The sun shined in her room from her repaired window and she was thankful that it was already morning, so that she wouldn't have to go back to sleep. She winced at the sight of her dresser toppled over on the floor. Her panting gradually slowed until she was able to take a couple of deep breaths. Her heart was pounding so quickly that she thought it would leap out of her chest or out of her own mouth.

Finally, she climbed out of bed and steadied her spinning head. She looked at the time and noticed it was only five in the morning, but she wasn't going to take any chances of falling back asleep. Her thoughts raced as she tried to process what she just saw in her dream. It was terrifying of course; one of her worst fears. She shook her head clear of the sickening memories, donned her cloak, and opened her bedroom door to go meditate.

She suddenly jumped back when she saw Beast Boy standing right in front of her door with his arm held up in a fist, prepared to knock. He gasped when the door suddenly disappeared and Raven took its place. He saw the look on her face and her sunken eyes, and knew right away that whatever was going on with her was very serious. It was clearly even scaring her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, I'm sorry for the long wait! I was away for a little while with NYLF and I had no access to my computer :P. Thank you again for the reviews; they are very encouraging and helpful. I hope you enjoy** **this next chapter.**

Beast Boy stared into Raven's face and saw every wrinkle caused by the fear and confusion. He furrowed his eyebrows and let his eyes frantically take in the strange sight- although it was rare, it was not foreign. After an awkward three seconds of silence, Beast Boy shook his head and spoke up.

"Uh, good morning!"

"Hi," Raven said in a hoarse voice.

"So… What's going on?" he asked a little hesitantly.

"What do you want?" she rudely interjected wanting to waste no time.

"Look, I know that something is going on with you. I heard you screaming again and I came to check up on you. Stop acting so guarded and just explain to me what's going on. Maybe I can help," he spilt.

"How did you manage to hear me? I couldn't have been that loud," she wondered.

"Helloooo," he quickly began when he found an excuse. "I have ears like a wolf!" he explained as he transformed into a wolf and rubbed his furry face on Raven's thigh. He had been keeping a close listen to her room all night for fear that something like this would happen again.

Raven just sighed heavily and walked passed him without a word. Beast Boy turned to her direction and turned back with a discouraged and confused look on his face.

"Rae, you can't just keep ignoring the problem like this!"

"On the contrary Beast Boy. I was about to go meditate and attempt to solve the problem, but I was interrupted by a noisy neighbor," she knew how deep her words can cut, but she didn't want him involved and she was getting a little angry with his insistence on helping her. There was nothing he could do and he would just have to accept it sooner or later.

He froze for a moment from the sting of her comment and then continued, "'If you'd even bother giving me or anyone else here a chance, I think you will realize that we're more than just noisy neighbors. Dammit Raven, we're your friends!"

"Right now is not the time," she sighed as the two were nearing the door to the roof.

"I don't know if you realize, but it's never the time for you," he said getting impatient.

"I'm trying to figure out what is going on the same way you are. If you would just give me the decency of keeping quiet, I'm sure I can actually get somewhere in figuring this out," she said in a slightly raised voice.

Beast Boy could feel his anger getting stronger, but he knew yelling back wasn't going to get her to give in. Sometimes he knew her better than she thought he did. Gently, he put his hand on her shoulder and swung her around so that they were face to face. Raven flinched at the contact and was thankful that her hood kept her face hidden.

"See, you flinched," he nearly whispered.

"What does that even mean?" she asked irritated that he felt the need to put his hands on her.

"It means that you're startled. Something is scaring you and it's keeping you anxious," he said refusing to let her eyes leave his.

"Just leave me alone," Raven answered looking in the bottom corner of her eyes, finally breaking the agonizing eye contact. She saw his concern and sensed his earnest care which made her terrified because she knew she couldn't keep him from becoming involved.

"I'm not leaving you until I get some answers," he pledged as he released his hand without looking away from her.

Raven watched as his hand slid from her shoulder and looked back up at him as he finished his sentence. He had about three inches on her, so she often had to look up at him to make eye contact, but she couldn't seem to find the energy- or the guts- to keep her head up. Instead, she stared at the ground and turned around to reach for the door handle to get to her normal meditating area. She still had a little while before Robin would wake everyone up, but now she feared that those two hours would never be enough.

"Well, looks like you're going to be waiting a long, long time," she said in a breathy tone as she opened the door and was about to shut it, but Beast Boy's foot stood in the way.

"So be it," he said casually as he followed her to the roof.

On the roof, Raven stared at him in bewilderment as he sat down in a comfortable, but still vigilant, position. He never let his fixated eyes leave her. He was determined to do at least something, even if it did take longer than he wished for.

"What are you doing?" asked Raven without keeping control over the exasperation in her voice.

"Well, I want to make sure I'm right here when you get out of that meditation so that you can tell me everything that's been happening when you're calm and collected," he said as he crossed his arms and continued to stare at her, but with narrowed eyes.

Raven put all of her power in keeping her jaw from dropping.

"Fine," she spat when she found her voice again.

Beast Boy said nothing and watched as she turned her back to him, crossed her legs, steadied her arms, and began to hover. He was amazed at how effortless she made it look and admired the way her hair flew through the gusts of early morning winds and how her cloak seemed to come alive as it was tossed and turned.

It took a moment for Raven to close her eyes and chant. It was difficult to relax with him just sitting there. She couldn't help but feel extremely self-conscious as she felt the heat from his deep green eyes drill into her back. She stayed silent for a moment, somehow hoping that he would just get up and walk away, but no such thing was about to happen. She looked out into the pink sky for a moment. The bright sun was making its steady way up into the sky. Clouds were moving toward the city, but they didn't look too threatening because even the ocean below looked rather calm. Raven tried to focus on the serenity of the ocean rather than the intensity of his stare. Gradually she began her chant and let herself drift into clarity as reality around her melted.

Beast Boy's ears perked up when he heard her voice recite the chant. Her voice transformed into soothing music as she continued in a steady rhythm. He allowed his gaze to fall just a bit and then felt a yawn rip through his body and make his eyelids feel very heavy. He pushed them open widely so that he wouldn't miss a single second of this because he wanted to make sure that he was there when she came out. The sweet feeling of sleep was incredible and grew more and more enticing as time went by. How long have they been out here? Twenty minutes? Forty minutes? Before he knew it, his head lowered to the ground and his body relaxed as sleep finally consumed him.

About an hour and a half later, Raven softly opened her eyes and blinked. The clouds above her already covered the sun and she could see the ocean producing harsh white caps. By the looks of it, a thunder storm was approaching. The wind picked up tremendously as her short hair was being tossed all over her face and her cloak was almost out of control. She gracefully floated to the ground in a single maneuver and turned to walk back into the tower. She almost screamed when she saw Beast Boy's body moving up and down gently with every intake of breath. She forgot that he decided to join her in this morning's meditation. She rolled her eyes in annoyance with herself for being startled so easily. She froze in her tracks at that last thought because it seemed to come right out of Beast Boy's mouth from their argument earlier. Looking at him sleep was relieving for her and if she could, she would just sit there and watch his chest move up and down, up and down, up and down…

_Wait! What am I doing? You're mad at him stupid! Remember?_ She shook her head and continued to move to the stairs without waking him. Just before her hand made contact with the door, she saw a quick flash of light come from the sky and then a low rumble. A drizzle of rain began to make their marks on the roof top. Raven instantly whipped her head around to check if Beast Boy was still sleeping. He stirred a little bit in his unconscious rest, but his eyes remained shut. She sighed and walked over to him; there was no way she was going to leave him sleeping outside on a metal rooftop that overlooked the vast, open ocean, which made his position the tallest thing for a couple of miles, during a thunder storm. She approached him softly and kneeled down beside him.

"Beast Boy," she whispered.

He mumbled and turned on his side.

"Beast Boy, wake up," she said a little louder, but he just continued to mumble.

"Get up," she said loudly as she began shaking him.

His eyes flittered open as a wide, goofy grin pervaded his face.

"Good morning sunshine," his voice cracked.

Raven began to blush harshly, but she chased it away as she wrinkled her nose and slapped his face to really wake him up.

"Huh! Wha- huh!" he responded to the harsh sting from her hand and frantically looked around. "Whoa, am I having that dream again?" he asked as he looked above him to see Raven's violet eyes piercing him. Raven's mouth gawked open and she pinched his arm tight enough to draw blood.

"Ouuuuch!" he yelped and looked at her again, but this time in a panic.

"There! Still think you're dreaming?" she asked furiously.

"No, no. I think I'm wide awake now," he answered trying to pretend he was deeply concerned with the wound she left behind on his arm.

"And I thought _my_ dreams were terrifying," she said back and wondered why in the world she decided to bother waking him up.

"I- I just- I was- Uggghhhh man! Dude! I was just sleep talking; I didn't know what I was talking about!" he reassured her as his face heated up.

Before Raven could come back with a clever response, a loud crack of thunder came from the sky and made the two of them jump. It abruptly poured from the clouds above and both of them quickly stood up and ran to the door. When they got inside, they were both drenched. Beast Boy turned into a dog and shook off the rain droplets which only got Raven even more soaked… and angry. She released a growl from her throat and marched away in a fuming mess. It almost wasn't worth the meditation.

"Hey, wait up!" called Beast Boy from down the hall where she left him. Raven just kept walking.

"Dude, what's your deal? You're very on edge today," he examined.

"Would you leave me alone?" she said under her breath.

"Yeesh! I thought you were supposed to be calm after meditation."

Raven just ignored him and traveled to the kitchen to make some tea. Beast Boy followed her and matched her pace easily. For about fifteen minutes, he desperately tried conversation after conversation. He would say one thing, Raven would ignore it and nothing but the rain on the tower and the rumble of the thunder would make a sound for a minute or two, then he would start all over. This procedure continued as Raven made her tea without a single hint of acknowledgement. She sat down at the table and he took the chair directly across from her, hoping that if he stared her down, she would finally say something. When another ten minutes of silence went by with nothing to listen to but the storm, Beast Boy finally sighed and tried to ask politely again, but this time with a different approach.

"Rae, will you please tell me what's been going on in your head?" he asked sweetly.

Raven remained silent and didn't even bother looking at him.

"Fine, I guess I'll just have to get Robin to get answers from you," he threatened.

Raven put down her cup and stared at him, "You wouldn't dare."

"Ya know Rae, I wouldn't take that chance," he added as he watched her eyes narrow.

"Fine," she reluctantly gave in as she walked over to the couch.

"So, start from the night before. What was that dream about?" he began interrogating as he neared the couch.

"Okay," Raven sighed and closed her eyes. By the time she opened them again, Beast Boy was seated next to her, but a little too close, so she uncomfortably scooted away from him. He looked very slightly hurt, but not enough to really distract him.

"Rae,"

"Ven," she corrected.

"Raven," he sighed, "I'm only doing this because I want to help you; just keep that in mind."

"The night before was a lot like the visions that I was having during the time of the prophecy," she began, choosing to ignore his last comment while looking straight ahead without any emotion.

"The entire world was engulfed in flames and there were crows everywhere. I seemed to be the only person alive. Then… then I saw you guys covered in stone, just frozen," her voice gained the slightest bit of sadness as she recalled the horrible image of her dear friends helplessly frozen in time. "Somehow, I caused this to happen and I couldn't even save you or anyone else. I just remember screaming all of your names and apologizing." She decided to pretend the focus on his name never happened. "And that's when you woke me up," she finished and looked at him to get his reaction.

"Oh geeze Rae, I had no idea that you were dreaming about this," he tried to comfort her.

"Yeah, well maybe now you can understand why I wanted to keep this information to myself," she replied.

"Whatever, you have your opinion and I have mine, now what happened last night?" he answered taken aback.

"Well, last night my dream started on one of the streets in Jump City and an entire crowd of civilians were surrounding me and they looked terrified, so I got up to see what the problem was. Suddenly, you guys started attacking me and Robin called me a criminal and you- you called me a monster," she trailed off as if he really hurt her. "No one would listen to me! I had no idea what was going on or what I had even done. Then Robin shoved my face into a mirror and my face… My face was… just… strange. I had red eyes and sharp teeth. I looked just like my father," Beast Boy could barely hear because she said it so softly. "Then you guys and the rest of the people dragged me to this fiery pit and screamed 'Traitor! Traitor!' Inside of the pit I heard my father laughing and I just kept rambling apology after apology. Very truly, the words sliced into me because I believed that I was nothing but a mindless monster," she finished holding back tears.

Beast Boy just looked at her and he could feel the tears welling up inside of her eyes, but he knew that her pride would never allow them to spill over. He sat there speechless for a little while just staring at her. Neither of them minded the silence because it was well needed on both sides.

Raven looked off into the darkness created by the storm and listened acutely to the rain hitting the tower. The thunder felt good as it seemed to shatter her stress with every roll.

Beast Boy just looked at Raven. He was pretty sure that she sensed it, but he couldn't peel his eyes away. The sadness took over her face and he almost regretted making her share her dream, but he knew from basic psychology that restating your dreams would help your brain process it and maybe that's all Raven needed… Unless…

"Hey Rae-Raven, you don't think Adonis has anything to do with this, do you?" he asked a little nervous.

"I don't know. I've been thinking about it, but I just don't see where it fits," she answered without removing her gaze from the window or changing tone.

"Don't worry, tonight I'm sure all of this will be sorted out, and I hope you know that for as long as you live, you will never be a mindless monster. You've done too many amazing things to be as terrible as your father. You're so much better than that Raven," he reassured her. He wanted to place his hand on her back, but he knew that she was in no mood to have any physical contact. Her moods were difficult to work around, but surly not impossible. He knew that it was time to change the subject.

"So, later tonight, should I still listen for you calling my name?" he asked playfully raising his eyebrows at her.

"Oh please," she said while suppressing a blush.

"C'mon Rae! You know I'm hilarious and you know that you want to laugh right now! You were probably yelling my name because you wanted me to stop telling so many funny jokes because I was making your ribs hurt!" he theorized with a huge smile.

"Shut up," she moaned.

"Stop being so grumpy! You want to laugh, oh yes you do!" he teased.

"Oh really, so what was _your_ dream about?" she challenged.

"What are you talking about?" he asked trying to buy time.

"Who was that special 'sunshine' of yours?" she mocked looking over at him.

"Oh that?" he said getting a little nervous.

"Yeah, and apparently you've had it before," she reminded him.

"I was… I was having a dream about… about Terra," he quickly said without realizing what he had just done.

"Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't know it was… I'm sorry," Raven said feeling extremely stupid while trying not to look at him.

"Yeah, sometimes I still have dreams that she's … ya know…" he trailed off staring at the ground.

He felt bad for lying, but felt even worse for mentioning her name. It's been a while since she's been brought up. Ever since he saw her at the school and saw that her life was finally normal, he went through everything to let her go. He often reassured himself that she was a liar and a traitor, but he knew that she was just horribly manipulated and blamed himself for a while. Now he knew otherwise. It was all her choice. Just look at Raven for example. She has some of the deepest evils living inside of her and every day, she holds it all down at any cost and puts her own life on the line every day for others whether she knows them or not. Now that Terra was gone, the blame no longer mattered. She's moved on and there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it. His feelings for Terra were never black or white; they were confusing and he didn't want to go back to it. He hated himself for saying her name again, especially in front of Raven. Somehow he sensed that she hated Terra the most, but he could never figure out why.

This wasn't a complete lie. He did dream about Terra sometimes, that she was still alive and still a titan; a friend. He often woke up from these dreams with tears falling without permission because he has no control over what happens in his sleep. This dream however, had nothing to do with Terra. He did have frequent dreams about Raven. In these dreams they were together and happy… Happier than he has ever been with Terra, almost as if they were a perfect match even with their every imperfection still intact. It was a really strange reoccurring dream. Sure, Cyborg would tease him about it, but it wasn't like he _actually_ had these feelings for her. They were teammates. Close friends. Very close friends. Closer than Raven naturally got to most people…

The silenced dragged on as the two went into deep thought when Cyborg came into the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. He walked in to see the two sitting next to each other, yet still far apart. It was strange; the two of them weren't saying a word to each other. Cyborg laughed quietly under his breath. He couldn't wait to bug BB about this later!

"Mornin' guys! Did y'all hear the thunder? Some of the loudest cracks I've heard so far! Is that what's got you two up so early?" he shouted from the counter to greet them.

Both of their heads snapped out of their trances. They each stole a glance to one another before getting up. Raven was the first to get up as she went back to the table to drink from her mug. Beast Boy followed and tried to drain out the last conversation he had and the thoughts that followed. He knew he had to keep Raven's secret, but she was crazier than he if she thought he was going to keep himself out of it.


	8. Chapter 8

Raven walked to her mug without a word and took a long sip. She felt defeated. After the downfall of her father, she released the tight reins on her emotions little by little every once in a while, but after struggling to feel nothing for most of her life, she wasn't used to the weight of emotional burden. When she put her tea down, she stared into its shallow depths and saw her own reflection. She was thankful to see her two large, violet eyes instead of four red slits, but something was so different in her face.

"Hey Cy!" called Beast Boy as he watched Raven get up from the couch and sit at the table.

"Whoa man! Did you see that flash of lightning? It looks really awesome over the ocean like this!" Cyborg exclaimed in curiosity as he raced to the window.

"Yeah dude!" Beast Boy agreed as he too rushed to Cyborg's side to watch the natural phenomena.

Suddenly, she saw a ripple in the dark tea caused by another drop of different liquid… She felt stinging in her eyes and felt something smooth rolling off of her nose and then into the tea again. Shocked, she quickly lifted her shaking hand to her face to catch another drop to examine it. It landed on her fingertip lightly and she pulled it away from her cheek bone, and into her sight. There, it glistened from the light in the kitchen and before she knew it, another one blurred her vision and splashed in her lap. She couldn't believe it, but they were actual tears. Her mind raced in a panic. _What the hell is going on?_ She frantically thought as she wiped away another two making their ways down her face.

Raven looked up from the tear in her hand and saw both Cyborg and Beast Boy with their noses pushed against the glass. She had to get out of the room before either of them realized what was going on, but she had to be quick about it before-

Her tea cup shattered and the lights flickered. She jumped back and stood up as her chair fell to the floor with a loud thud. Her eyes made frantic circles around the room as Beast Boy and Cyborg instantly turned around at the sound of the crashing glass. Their faces were in awe as they stared into the kitchen.

"Dude, was that because of the storm?" Beast Boy asked in amazement as he lifted his head to stare at the lights.

"I don't know man!" responded Cyborg as he followed Beast Boy's gaze.

Raven knew too well that it definitely had nothing to do with the rain.

"Raven, did you see that?" Cyborg asked as he turned in her direction.

"Wait, are you okay?" Beast Boy asked as his smile faded at the sight of her tea cup all over the table and dark tea stains on her clothes and her own skin steaming from the heat of the drink.

"I- I don't know," Raven answered clearly in a daze.

Beast Boy began to walk over to her to clean up the mess, but Raven suddenly twisted around and walked-nearly jogged- to her room. Beast Boy and Cyborg watched her go speechlessly with their mouths ajar. They looked around the room trying to figure out what really happened. Slowly, their gazes meet each other's.

"What did you do to her?" asked Cyborg sternly.

"What makes you think I did anything?" he asked offended.

"Well, I don't know, maybe because I come in here and the two of you are sittin' on the couch in silence and then she blows up the kitchen. Not to mention that you're always botherin' her and nine times outta ten, it _is_ because of you!" he retorted, getting ready to kick his green ass.

Beast Boy didn't say a word; he just stared to where Raven was seated less than a minute ago.

"Look," Cyborg sighed. "You're never gonna get her that way," he said trying to lighten the mood.

"Wha- dude! What is that supposed to mean?" Beast Boy stuttered.

"Don't you 'duuuude' me!" he mocked.

"You always do this! Just leave it alone," Beast Boy said defensively.

"Man, you have liked her from the beginin' and I can't wait for you to realize that you can't live without her," he said back between giggles.

Beast Boy scrunched his face in frustration and walked over to the flipped over chair to clean up Raven's disaster while Cyborg continued in a fit of laughter. A sudden ping of guilt shot through him as he wondered if he really did cause her to act like this. He should have never made her share her dreams. His intentions were only to help her, but now he felt that he erupted more damage than patched up wounds. He spent cleaning up the mess swimming in thoughts of Raven, hoping that she's alright. He wanted to talk to her, to comfort her, but he had no idea where to begin. Everything today so far made matters worse. He made Raven actually show fear and cry, and he hadn't even eaten breakfast yet! He knew an apology was in need, but he just wished that he could find a way to make her laugh again like yesterday… He smiled just a little when reminded of the sound of her laugh.

Raven made her way through the hallway very quickly, trying to hold in as much as she could. She tried to keep her mind blank to prevent any kind of provoking thought, but it was greuling while in a form of some kind of hysteria. Continuing on her walk to her room, she kept taking deep breaths to help calm her down, but stopped dead in her tracks when Robin made his way out of Starfire's door. He turned around to see Raven walking his way and immediately turned bright red from embarrassment; however, it melted into deep concern when she came closer and he saw the tears in her eyes. He's seen her sad before, but never cry. Something was amiss.

"Are you okay?" he asked when she came in ear shot.

"I'm fine," she stated dryly as she just passed him.

"Raven, slow down for a second and just talk," he persisted as he followed her.

"I can't Robin," she said without stopping.

"I know it's hard, but sometimes it just feels better to let things out," he pointed out.

"No, I can't because I don't know why. I'm just upset and I'll get over it."

"But you don't have to get over it alone Raven. I'm your friend and I'm here for you. We share a connection and I think it's time we use it to your advantage this time," he said once he was able to face her.

"I have to be alone. I appreciate what you're trying to do; I really do, but I have to be alone right now. I'll be in my room if you need me," she said looking at the ground.

"Okay, I understand and it _you _need _me_, I'll be in the living room," he said trying an easy smile back.

"Thanks Robin," she said looking up at him with the slightest hint of a smile and walked away to her room.

Robin watched as she made her way to her room and closed the door. He wanted to push her further to express what she was feeling, but after knowing Raven for a couple of years, he knew better than to push his way into business that she wanted all to herself. He would be sure to question her later because she had a habit of keeping vital secrets from the team, but he couldn't ask her now. Not while she was like this.

Robin was already dressed and ready to start the day. He eventually made his way into the living room to see Beast Boy and Cyborg carrying on. He saw Cyborg laughing so hard that he was sure he was going to fall over and Beast Boy was cleaning up some kind of mess.

"Hey guys, did you see what happened to Raven?" Robin asked as he entered the room.

Cyborg stopped laughing and looked at his teammate while Beast Boy turned pale white, wondering if telling Robin the truth was the right thing to do.

"Nope. She was just sitting at the table, drinking tea when all of a sudden, the lights flickered and her cup exploded. She ran away before we get her to tell us what was wrong," answered Cyborg.

"I just saw her run into her room. I had asked her what was wrong, but she explained that she wanted to be left alone."

"Well I think BB here can tell us what happened," pressured Cyborg who was sure that he caused it.

"What does he mean Beast Boy?" asked Robin skeptically.

"Well, we- we were just, ya know, talking and stuff," he stammered.

"Yeah, and what were you talking about?" Robin asked growing irate.

"Nothing. Just the weather, like, how cool the storm looked and I asked how she was feeling and what not, but that's really it," he lied.

"Don't lie to me Beast Boy," warned Robin.

"Dude, I have no idea why she got so upset! One second she was joking with me, then the next she was silent, and then this happened!"

"I know Raven is difficult to handle sometimes, but you've got to be more careful about what you say. I don't know what you said this time, but whatever it was, you really made her upset and I think you owe her an apology," said Robin.

"Already planning on it," said Beast Boy a little vexed.

"Alright y'all, who wants breakfast?" asked Cyborg, not because he was hungry, but because he wanted to stop a fight before it began.

"That sounds good Cyborg," said Robin feeling hungry for the first time all morning.

"I'm not hungry," said Beast Boy as he went back to stare out of the window.

"Good morning friends!" greeted Starfire as she flew over to Cyborg who was about to cook.

"Good morning Star," approached Robin who smiled brightly.

"Hey Starfire," said Cyborg a little worried as she neared him in the kitchen.

"May I please do the cooking of the morning meal?" asked Starfire sweetly with her hands folded under her chin.

"Uhhh," was all that came out of Cyborg's mouth as he tried as hard as he could to search for a good excuse as to why she shouldn't cook.

"Maybe tomorrow you can," tried Robin with a grimace. He hated saying no to her, but he definitely didn't want to eat Tamaranian food.

"Please! I will do a glorious job. For I have been practicing," she smiled.

"Well, okay… I mean… I'm sure you have and all, but-but," Robin looked to Cyborg to help, but even he could see that Robin was doomed. Cyborg reluctantly sighed to signify that he had given up as well.

"Sure you can make us breakfast Star," Robin said trying not to crack.

"Oh wonderful!" she exclaimed as she gave him a kiss on the cheek and floated to the pots and pans. The two boys slumped in their chairs and prepared for the cuisine of a lifetime.

Raven sat down on her bed and let the backed up tears finally fall. Her face muscles hurt from trying to hold them in for so long, and the lump in her throat kept her from swallowing for a while. The tears fell down her face and crashed into her lap. Raven could count the times she's cried on one hand. What had made her so miserable and why was she reacting so intensely? She thought back to the conversation that her and Beast Boy had and remembered the reencountered fears in her dreams. She shuttered at the simple thought. Then there was the conversation about his dream. It was about Terra, but so what? Why did that bother her so much? Nothing ever bothers her this much!

As the questions kept popping up and the answers never put any to rest, she became not only frustrated, but apprehensive too. She knew that she was losing control, and fast. She was a dangerous weapon like the one portrayed in her nightmare and she'd have to do everything she could to control it. Her mind instantaneously flashed to her friends. She loved them more than she loved anything and would never leave them unprotected if she could help it. She didn't want to hurt them; not again.

Suddenly, Raven thought to enter Nevermore, but then stopped herself. She couldn't go in there like this and she knew with all of the mysteries, she had to be ready at any possible moment to fight. Going into Nevermore is a long ordeal and she would have no access to the outside world, which essentially meant ditching the team. Instead, she lied on her bed and waited for her unexplained tears to stop falling and for the impulse to sob to terminate. Honestly, at this point, she was worried more about showing her face to Cyborg, Robin, and especially Beast Boy again. As a result, she decided to stay in her room and just read until she was called upon. She walked over to her book shelf and took out a novel that she started a week ago, but never got the time to continue. Grabbing the book, she wrapped her arms around its square frame and climbed back into her bed. When she opened it, it gave her a rush of joy to finally be able to read again. Her book mark was still in its correct spot which was surprising considering the fact that it was tossed around her room not that long ago. Before diving into the massive swarm of words within the old pages, she took one more look outside and saw the clouds continuing to move over the vast ocean, above the tower, and pour into the city. The clouds were heavy and dark which made them quite frightening, but beautiful in a strange way as blue electricity tore through the soft and cold figures; letting them illuminate the dark world that the clouds created in the first place. It was an equal balance of terror and magnificence.

Back in the living room, a long duration of time passed since Raven disappeared. Cyborg and Robin endured Starfire's feast while Beast Boy continued to watch the world transform outside of the window. Eventually, Starfire coaxed Beast Boy into eating some of her food on the condition that she use non-animal products. His mood didn't lighten up until Cyborg persuaded him into playing some video games. The two were deeply involved with the flashing screen, tilting their entire bodies side to side as if it gives some kind of advantage over one who stays still. Humorous competition made both friends laugh until their ribs threatened to split. Robin spoke to Starfire for a while and promised to plan a night just for the two of them soon. She didn't believe him, but it was nice to live in the fantasy. Eventually, not to anyone's surprise, Robin went to his room to devise a plan for that night. Starfire gloomily watched as he left her and floated over to where Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing their game.

"May I offer you a snack of popped corn while you play?" asked Starfire kindly.

"Sure, if you don't mind," said Beast Boy eagerly.

"Not at all dear friends," she said as she floated back to the kitchen humming.

"Boo-Ya! Beat ya again grass stain!"

"No fair dude! There was a total glitch on the screen!"

"C'mon little guy, don't beat yourself up over this. It's not your fault that I rule and you suck," Cyborg teased.

"We'll see about that next round," Beast Boy warned back with a devious smile.

"Yeah okay! Raven beat you like fifteen times and it was her first time playing!"

"Hey, she was just abnormally naturally good at this!" he said embarrassed.

"Where is friend Raven? It is nearly past two hours after the noon," Starfire reported as she walked back with a bowl of hot popcorn.

"I guess she just wanted to relax and take it easy for the rest of the day," proposed Cyborg, taking a handful of popcorn while still focused on the game.

"I suppose, but shouldn't we do the checking-up on her?"

"Oh no, that's BB's job! He created this mess and now he's gonna have to go fix it," he insisted.

After a segment of silence from Beast Boy, he finally said, "I guess you're right… What do I even say?"

"We'll all go out for pizza. Tell her to get her butt out of her room and join us," he advised.

"Fine, I guess I'll go apologize now."

"Alright man, good luck! Hey Star, wanna take his spot on the video game?" Cyborg offered.

"Oh how splendid! Please, how does this wondrous device function?" she asked while flipping the controller upside-down and side-to-side to examine the foreign tool further.

Beast Boy got up from the couch soundlessly to make his way to Raven's room. The walk down the hallway felt more like an entire agonizing hour rather than one mere minute. He had no idea how to approach the subject. He didn't even know if it was him that made her cry, so how was he going to come up with an elaborate "I'm sorry" speech. Thoughts raced in his head as the inches closed in from the living room to her bedroom. All he could think about was that maybe he made her cry by making her share her dreams, but, in the end, he wasn't sorry for doing it. Yeah, he wished that it didn't make her cry, but he knew that making her spill was important and a step closer to not being afraid of her own emotions.

Before he knew it, he was at her door. He was able to recall too many times in this same position. He would do something stupid, it would set her off, they would argue, he would go too far, and he was left to ask for forgiveness. This was a similar example. Not the same, but the end circumstance is the same. He hated admitting that he was wrong, but what bothered him the most about the alleged apology was that he hurt her somehow and her pain was his fault. For him, the dilapidated look that he would catch from her in a quick flash was punishment enough. Taking a deep breath, he lightly knocked on the door to her room.

Raven was inside of her room which, at this point, was pretty dark. The only light came from the small amount of sunlight still visible through the clouds and a bunch of candles. While the thunder and lightning had long since been gone, the clouds remained along with sporadic drizzles and down pours. Comfortable in her bed, her eyes flew across the pages in desire for more of the adventures in this imaginary world that she traveled to in her story. Before she could finish the page she was on, she heard a knock on the door. Immediately, her heart sank because she didn't want to have to be trampled with questions. She knew that whoever it was would do it because they cared, but leaving her alone was providing her with the most help. She stared at the door for a moment, not sure if she should answer it or not. The person on the other side knocked again after no response. Figuring that she'd have to face them sooner or later, she reluctantly put her book away with her powers while walking to get the door. When she answered, her heart nearly fell to her feet when she saw Beast Boy standing in front of her door for the second time today.

"Hey Rae," he greeted cheerfully.

"Hi Beast Boy," she answered trying not to look at him.

"So, uh, we were going to get some pizza if you wanna come," he began.

"I'm not very hungry," she claimed.

"So come just to hang out. We're all going. It'll be fun," he smiled weakly, rubbing his arm.

"I really don't think I should…"

"Look, Raven, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I pushed you so hard in sharing your nightmare. I mean, no offense, but I'm glad I got you to open up, but I never meant to get you so worked up. I had no idea that this had that great of an impact on you and-"

"Beast Boy, stop. There's no need for you to feel guilty or come up with an apology for me. I have no idea why I got so upset, but I did and I'm not sure if I can handle going out right now. Thank you anyway for coming to get me," she said while attempting to close the door.

Before the door slid closed, Beast Boy put his hand between it and the wall to prevent it from sealing her away again.

"Raven, just look at me… You _can_ go out because I have faith that you can handle anything you put your mind to. You're one of the strongest and smartest people I know. People cry all of the time and it shouldn't stop you from enjoying your day. You need to give yourself a little more credit than you let yourself have."

Raven pulled the door open a little more and looked up at him. "I don't know…"

"Just come with me. Please. What's the worst that can happen? You'll be miserable? You're already feeling that way in your dark room. At least you'll be out with your friends. We'll have fun. I'll make sure of it," he promised with a bright smile as he wrapped his hand around her forearm and gently led her through the doorway.

Raven couldn't help but smile. She complied and followed Beast Boy into the hallway. Who knows, maybe he was right.

**I feel like this chapter sounds a bit rushed . I rewrote it several times, so I hope you guys enjoyed it anyway! Tell me what you think.**


	9. Chapter 9

Beast Boy reluctantly let go of her arm when he noticed that she was following without protest. He couldn't help but be impressed with himself. He never imagined being able to make Raven feel like she was harmless. When he stole another look into her face, he saw that she was trying very carefully to keep herself composed. While her emotions _did_ come out a little more ever since the death of her father, he found it hard to believe that she'd be able to break such an intense habit; after all, the entire world of life depended on that habit to be in good terms. Of course, none of this explained her strange outbreak today, but he was going to try to make her laugh again. He did it yesterday without even trying.

When both of them entered the room, Cyborg gave them a smile and Starfire flew over to Raven to give her an involuntary, almost bone crushing, hug.

"Raven! What has been troubling you so? I have missed you this morning!" said Starfire with her arms squeezing around Raven's body.

"Oh, thanks… Starfire… Nice… to see… you too," Raven forced out from her screaming lungs.

"Hey Raven, how are you feeling?" asked Cyborg when Starfire released.

"A little better… I don't know what came over me, but I guess I'm lucky to have such great friends," she confessed shyly with a smile.

"Well alright! Someone get Robin so we can get some pizza!" exclaimed Cyborg happily.

"I will!" shouted Starfire as she radiantly gleamed with joy and went as fast as she could to get Robin.

"Hey Beast Boy, thanks… yet again," Raven concluded.

"Uhm, yeah! No problem," he smiled back and blushed without even realizing.

Starfire returned nearly dragging Robin by his hand as he stumbled behind her, trying to keep up with her dashing speed.

"What do we wait for? Let us have fun and consume earthly pizza!" she encouraged with a contagious smile.

"I'll drive the T-car," Cyborg laughed as he led all four of them to the garage.

All five of them piled into the car with Cyborg driving, Robin in the passenger seat, and Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire in the back. On the way there, everyone was in a decent mood. After two days of uneasy nights and rushed missions, it was nice to settle down and just act like normal teenagers for an hour or two.

"Okay, okay, I've got another one!" exclaimed Beast Boy as everyone else in the car sighed. "What do you call a cheetah and a tofu burger?"

"What BB?" asked Cyborg irritated.

"Fast food!" he shouted while only he and Starfire laughed.

"Is a cheetah a molecular reaction that takes place within the burger of tofu to create a greater speed of its atoms?" asked Starfire still giggling.

"Huh?" asked Beast Boy confused.

"No Star, a cheetah is a very fast mammal. Don't worry about it, the joke wasn't very funny," explained Robin.

"Well fine! I know Rae likes me jokes! Isn't that right Rae?... Rae?"

"No," she simplified.

"Okay, this one is for you! This will make you laugh!"

"Oh boy," she said sarcastically.

"Okay, where should you never take a dog?... You're supposed to ask where…" he reminded her.

"Where?" she sighed.

"A flea market!" he said as he morphed into a puppy and jumped into her lap with a tiny bark.

"Maybe you should stay like this for the rest of the car ride so no one has to hear your lame jokes anymore," Raven said with a playful smirk.

"Awww! How adorable!" said Starfire as she reached over to pet him.

Beast Boy nuzzled into her outstretched hand and happily wagged his tail. Then he rolled over and let her rub his little tummy as he lazily kicked out his back legs. He looked up at Raven again and jumped back on her lap. He stood on his hind legs and put his front paws on her collar bone for support as he wagged his tail energetically and panted playfully with his tongue out. His eyes were wide and he let out an occasional bark to enforce her attention.

"Good- good doggie," Raven tried and then petted him from the top of his head to the tip of his tail in three hesitant strokes.

Beast Boy barked again in encouragement, but when she wouldn't go back to petting him, he leaned his tiny face into hers and licked her cheek repeatedly despite her protests.

"Oh Azarath, stop it Beast Boy! Stop licking me," she pleaded with her right eye squinted as he continued licking her cheek.

The rest of the car laughed as Raven begged him to stop while Beast Boy refused to listen.

"Still want him to stay a puppy for the rest of the ride?" snickered Cyborg.

"Are we almost there?" cried Raven.

"I think I'm gonna take the long way," he suggested.

"Don't you dare! Beast Boy, cut it out!" she implored.

Beast Boy ignored her and Cyborg took the long way as all of them laughed at Raven being smothered by Beast Boy. The car eventually came to a stop and Beast Boy whined as he climbed off of her and turned back. He broke into a fit of laughter as he watched Raven violently wipe her face. Before getting out of the car, she gave him a quick glare and opened the door. She got up and dusted her clothes off while the rest of the team laughed. Beast Boy walked over to her and swung his arm around her shoulders while trying to keep from collapsing onto the floor in laughter. Raven crossed her arms and turned her head the other way.

"C'mon Rae! I was just fooling around!"

"Raven," she corrected.

"Fine Miss _Raven_! I was just kidding! You know it was funny," he said in her ear.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she denied.

"Dude! Just laugh! It was a joke!" he said as he let go of her shoulders to throw his hands up in the air in excitement.

Without warning, she began laughing loud and girly. It rang though the parking lot, but the laughter that sounded cheerful to bystanders was actually eerie to the friends that knew her. She stopped just as suddenly as she started and gasped with her hand over her mouth and her eyes about to bulge out of her head. The silence frightened her as her four friends stared at her in awe, not sure what to say.

"Well that was… odd?" said Robin as he relaxed.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Raven announced as she stalked into the public facility.

Raven detested public bathrooms, but this was a necessary circumstance. She was thankful that this bathroom was just one room rather than an open area with several stalls. The privacy was helpful to her so that she could recollect herself. She walked over to the sink and stared into the mirror above it. Her purple irises seemed to burn through the glass because of the amount of intensity swimming in them. She was a ticking time bomb. She was dangerously unstable. Something was wrong.

She looked away and splashed cold water on her face with her eyes gently closed. The rush of cold made her face wake up so suddenly that she flinched. After rubbing her face dry, she opened her eyes again and let her face relax. She woke up terrified, spent the rest of the morning sobbing, and now she was spending the afternoon laughing? How could she be so foolish to let her emotions run romped today? But how was today any different from yesterday? It was almost as if her emotions were detached from the conscious portion of her brain. After today's mission, she had to be sure to go into Nevermore to sort things out. Perhaps her dreams were just causing some kind of over-loaded panic within her emotional spectrum.

With that final reassuring thought, she took one last deep breath, held it for a second, and released slowly. She made her way out of the bathroom and searched the restaurant for her friends. Considering the fact that the rain was still on and off, she highly doubted that they went to their usual spot outside on the balcony. As she scanned the room for them, she noticed Starfire trying to catch her attention with a wave. Raven walked over to them and sat in the only empty stool left at the table. By this time, the pizza was already in the center of the hungry bunch. Cyborg and Beast Boy were happily shoveling in their slices while Starfire was finishing squirting mustard on hers. Overall, Raven was just grateful for the lack of personal questions. She knew they thought it over and figured it was best not to cross her, especially today.

"Why don't you try eating something?" politely suggested Robin after Raven sat down.

"That's okay; I think I'll just stick to a drink," she answered as she reached for a cup and the pitcher of soda. She didn't like soda very much, but she would deal with it for now.

"Just try it," said Cyborg shoving pepperoni pizza in Beast Boy's face.

"Dude, no way!"

"Take a wiff of that deliciousness."

"That's so nasty! You couldn't pay me to eat that!"

"Stop being such a baby," Cyborg snickered.

"I've _been_ those animals that you eat before! Do you have any idea how weird that is?" he argued.

"Fine, whatever; it's your loss," he said happily biting into his meaty pizza.

"Cyborg, would you like some mustard to accompany your pizza with the meat substance?" asked Starfire kindly.

"No, that's quite alright Star. Uhm, thanks anyway."

"What about you Beast Boy?"

"I'm good, but thanks."

"Raven, you have not even begun consuming any pizza. Perhaps I should get you a portion and place some mustard on it."

"No thank you Starfire," said Raven just about to finish her cup of soda.

"Are you certain that you will not eat?"

"I'm positive."

"If that is what you want," she shrugged.

Unexpectedly, Raven's mouth opened and out came a deep, yet not very loud, burp. The table stopped whatever they were doing just in time to see Raven straighten in the stool and slap her hands over her mouth. She looked down into the clear, plastic glass that contained the very little left of her drink. The dark bubbles floated to the top and mocked her with every pop.

"Nice one!" yelled Cyborg as he put up his hand to her face for a high five.

"Uh, thanks?" said Raven as she gave him a weak high five.

"That was nothing! Wait 'til you hear my burping skills," Beast Boy finished off with a burp loud enough to grab the attention of the neighboring tables. A young boy sitting in the table next to them began cackling as he quickly downed his own cup of soda to imitate his heroes. His mother quickly snatched the cup away from him and scowled towards the titans.

"Guys, that's enough. I have to say Raven, I would never expect you to start something like this," wondered Robin as he looked at her face all scrunched up in disgust after hearing Beast Boy belch.

"Me either," she agreed a little startled.

"Maybe we should go back home," inserted Robin.

The titans got into the car and headed back to the tower. Everyone was in the same vivacious mood that they were before. Beast Boy continued to tell unbearable jokes while Starfire laughed. Cyborg turned up his radio while Robin bobbed his head to the beat. Raven leaned her head on the window and watched the clouds continued to take over the sky. Today was exhausting, but she knew that she still had to join with the mission tonight. She wouldn't dare take a nap when she got in her room just in case another nightmare was forming in her subconscious, just waiting to surface while she had no control, or at least less than what she's been having.

When they got into the tower, it was almost four and they had to discuss the concrete plans for tonight in order to form an effective mission for obtaining information from Victor and Julie. Whatever they were planning had to be stopped before it began. Maybe all of this had something to do with the bad dreams, but Raven still wanted to keep that secret because whatever was going on inside of her, it was best to not allow anyone else's involvement. Their very lives may depend on it. It was a risk she was never willing to take.

As soon as they entered the living room, Robin began spitting out ideas for tonight's mission. Clearly, acting like a normal teenager for too long was no good for his racing brain. After being a devoted hero to the town for a couple years, who could blame him?

"Alright team, we had our fun, but now we have to decide what to do for tonight. There are a lot of things that need to be organized before we head out," Robin started.

The rest of the team sat on the leather black couch while Robin chose to stand in front of them, eager to process a preparation.

"Well, what plans do you have thus far?" asked Starfire.

"I was thinking, since we have no idea when either of them are showing up, and if we entered in a big bulk, it would blow our cover, we have to split up. Starfire and I will stay here while Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven go to this place and keep on the lookout. When you see either of them, you are to contact me, and the two of us will meet you guys there," Robin explained.

"Okay that sounds good, but are you sure that's going to work? I mean, if either of them sees any of us, they'll call the whole thing off. Face it; most of us aren't exactly easy to hide," Cyborg pointed out.

"We need to put on disguises. I know each of you have at least some normal clothes to put on, but you have to make sure it blends in and keeps your identity safe."

"Then we must journey to the mall of shopping?" asked Starfire with electric eyes.

"I've got clothes!" Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg shouted at the same time hoping that they wouldn't be dragged to the mall. Starfire hung her head and let out a defeated breath.

"Okay, sounds good. When you arrive there, also keep an eye out for anything else that looks even slightly suspicious. We have no idea who's involved or who else will be there. Try to get as close as possible to the two of them without making anything too obvious," Robin instructed.

"Sir, yes sir!" mocked Beast Boy with his hand in a saluting position above his eyebrows and his body as stiff as a board.

"Just search through your closets for clothes to wear and report back here when you've got it together," ordered Robin, shaking his head at Beast Boy.

All of them scurried to their rooms to form a suitable outfit out of whatever they had lying around in their closets. It was strange to put on normal clothes after spending their past couple of years in costume always ready for battle. They never had much time to act normal which made dressing normal unnecessary. It was almost exciting to pick out these normal teenage clothes.

Cyborg rummaged through his clothes and found very little that looked normal. It was even difficult to find clothing to fit his massive body and mechanics. Luckily, he had a gray sweat shirt and some baggy jeans that he could put on. It was simple, and yet, still covered up his robotic parts. It was strange to stare at himself in the mirror and somehow sad too. He pulled up his hood to cover his red eye and stared into his other one. He suddenly reminisced what it was like to grow up as a normal teenager before the accident and before he ever became a titan. He looked down to the floor to shake the sudden melancholy and walked out of his room to join the rest of the team.

Starfire excitedly flew to her closet and ripped through the piles of clothes she brought from the mall. She seemed to forget in the process of purchasing these outfits that she would seldom get the chance to wear any of them. She threw each garment on the floor until she picked out her favorite choice. She honestly looked very human, so there wasn't much that she had to hide, but putting her hair up and contacts were probably necessary so that no one would recognize her. She found a pale pink skirt that went up to her knees and a beige short sleeved shirt with white wedges on her feet. She walked over to her vanity and twisted her hair in a bun and put in dark brown contacts. Looking at the box of contacts, she took out an extra pair of them for Raven. There was no way she could go out with her purple eyes and she was dubious that Raven ever bothered to pick up a pair. Staring at her new look, she added a necklace with a small green stone and put diamond studs in her ears. She took a quick glance at the make-up she bought a while back, but knew she didn't have enough time to figure out how to properly put it on, especially with these newly colored eyes. She gave herself one last look in the mirror and shot a winning smile. She was extremely jubilant to finally be able to dress in traditional earth clothes.

Robin walked into his room with the specific outfit already in his mind. He wanted to make this quick because the team had a great deal to do and time was running short. He moved his usual costume to the side and grabbed a pair of jeans, a navy blue short sleeved shirt, grey sneakers, and black glasses. He took a quick check over himself to make sure everything looked neat and fixed his glasses over his eyes perfectly so that no one else could see his identity. When everything was checked out, he quickly jogged out of his room to get with the rest of his teammates.

Raven stood in her doorway to her closet at a loss of thought. She barely had any normal clothes because she came from a completely different planet and she only shopped when Starfire dragged her to the mall. Staring into her dark closet, she took out the only normal clothes she had. There was a simple black dress, which she immediately tossed aside, three pairs of jeans, one pair of sweat pants, a sweat shirt, and several other shirts. She let out an annoyed sigh while glaring at the clothes that she displayed on her bed, searching for the combination that she disliked the least. Finally, she donned a pair of dark blue jeans with a black tang top and a plain, grey sweatshirt tightly zipped up and black and white converses on her feet. She took a quick look at herself in the mirror and realized that she still had to hide her red stone and her purple eyes. She kicked herself for not getting any accessories that would hide these features, but let's face it, shopping was never her favorite pass time. She knew that the only option was something that may as well kill her, but she didn't have much of a choice. With a final defeated breath, she intensely hoped that Starfire had some extra items to spare her and walked out of her room to meet up with the rest of the team.

Beast Boy looked around at the mess sprawled throughout his floor and found nothing normal there. He went to the back of his closet and finally found some normal clothes to examine. He had to be very careful in choosing what to wear because his green skin pigment would be a dead give away to his identity. He found a pair of baggy jeans, a long sleeved black and… green… stripped shirt which made him giggle at the irony, and a thick, black beanie to cover his ears. For his hands, he thought he should just keep a constant effort to keep them in his pockets or covered by the sleeves of his shirt. He stared at his face in worry and saw his green skin still shining through the rest of his outfit. It almost made him sick. He hated looking like this; like some kind of freak. He never had much of a childhood, so why would his years in adolescence be any better? Stressed out, the thought of turning into a fly and using that as a disguise crossed his mind, but he knew being that small in a setting like that with the bright flashing lights and hundreds of people while looking for very specific people would be almost counterproductive. But how is he going to get all of the green off of his face? Then he remembered Starfire and her make-up obsession. He shuttered at the thought of putting on make-up, but it was the only way he could participate in the mission without blowing his cover. Swallowing his pride, he got up and made his way to the living room to talk to Starfire.

When he walked into the hallway, he realized that he was one of the last people out. It was rather difficult to find clothes that cover every inch of your skin. When he got into the living room, he noticed everyone in their outfits and became almost awe stricken. Here they were, the super heroes of Jump City, all dress in average teenage attire, getting ready to go to some kind of night club. It was so surreal, but he remembered that this was only for a mission and reality set back in. No one was really dressed to impress, just to blend it, but everyone looked so different. Robin wasn't wearing obnoxious colors and he couldn't even tell that Cyborg was half metal. Raven looked… pretty good actually.

Before he could finish the thought, Starfire floated into the room, glowing with happiness. He knew he had to ask her quickly before Robin got annoyed that he wasn't completely ready.

"Hey Starfire, I need some help," both Raven and Beast Boy said at the same time. They both looked at each other and looked back at Starfire.

"I would be overjoyed to assist the two of you! Raven, I already grabbed contacts for your exotic colored eyes. Is that all you needed?" she giddily asked.

"Thanks Starfire, I needed those, but I also needed something to cover my forehead," answered Raven.

"And I need some kind of make-up to cover the green on my face," added Beast Boy.

"Come friends! I am most excited to help!" she finished with a squeal and grabbed both of their hands to drag them to her room.

"Raven, just try to put these contacts in. I got the darkest earthly eye pigment so that it covers up your original pigment completely. While you do that, I shall help Beast Boy with his face," she explained after immediately sitting them on her bed in a rush of excitement.

Raven stared at the small contacts in her hands and went over to the mirror. She had no idea how to approach such a procedure. She felt really foolish for not knowing exactly what to do, but for the most part, it looked self explanatory. She raised one to her eye and attempted to place it correctly, but the urge to blink made her twitch uncontrollably.

Beast Boy sat on the bed and waited for Starfire to approach him. He looked up and saw the sweet red-head picking through her make-up to find the right substances to spread all over his green face. Behind her, he saw Raven. The jeans looked great on her and it was so strange to see her in human clothing. He secretly watched as she tried to transform her purple irises to a dark brown. It was very comical to watch and it was kind of… cute the way she struggled to do something so simple. He couldn't hold it in anymore! He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he couldn't help but laugh out loud when she twitched harshly while still attempting to make it work.

"Cut it out Beast Boy," she snarled.

"I'm sorry Rae! It's just so funny," he snorted.

"Raven do you require more assistance?" asked Starfire barely able to stifle her own laughter.

"No guys, I can do this very effectively on my own," said Raven feeling her cheeks heat up.

"Pfffttt, yeah okay!" shouted Beast Boy still laughing at her ridiculousness.

Ignoring that last comment, Raven tried to put it in with her powers, but wound up making it worse.

"Beast Boy, I found this perfect formula of face minerals for doing the covering up of blemishes… or uhhh… your green skin," said Starfire sweetly while she applied the make-up carefully.

Even though the brush really tickled his face, Beast Boy's motion remained minimal for fear of messing something up.

"That is it Beast Boy, I have finished the make-uping," she exclaimed.

Raven was staring at herself in the mirror. After a little while, the contacts were in place and made her purple eyes change to a deep brown. She didn't spend too much time staring at them because they were more of a nuisance than a fashion statement. When she turned around, she was dumbfounded by the work that Starfire did on Beast Boy's face. It was nearly impossible to tell that it was actually green.

"How do I look?" asked Beast Boy to Raven who he noticed was staring at him, but with brown eyes instead of her piercing purple ones.

"Can't even tell that you're actually green," she politely encouraged.

"Thanks Rae," he said a little shyly.

"I cannot wait to show the others your transformations!" Starfire proudly said.

"What about my stone?" asked Raven.

"Oh yes! I have a hat that you may borrow if you like! It is of the color dark blue; like your favorite selection of color," she offered.

Starfire flew to one of her drawers and pulled out a dark blue, knitted beanie that was more loosely woven than Beast Boy's. Starfire gently put it on for her as it firmly covered her forehead while it still hung in a bulk on the back of her head. Raven watched in the mirror as it hid her red stone away from sight. She was also able to see Starfire proudly smiling in the back at the final touches of her work.

"Splendid! You guys look so different! On my planet, such transformations were forbidden without a specific paper to signify registration," she explained.

"Wow Rae, you look so strange in normal clothes!" shouted Beast Boy.

"What do you mean by 'strange'?" asked Raven a little offended.

"Well, ya know, not strange. I mean, you look really good! Wait- not like _that_ I just meant you look… look… nifty," he quickly stammered making a fool out of himself.

"Nifty?" asked Raven while rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, uh, way… nifty," he answered staring at the ground embarrassed.

"Whatever, can we just go now?" suggested Raven feeling incredibly self-conscious and eager to get out of there.

"Let us join our other friends!" agreed Starfire leading the way giggling.

The three of them made their way into the living room while Robin and Cyborg stared at Beast Boy's face in amazement. His original green skin was barely detectable. It will surly maintain its effect in the darkness of the room that they would soon enter. The green hair was still slightly visible, but it was no longer uncommon to see a teenager with atypically colored hair.

"Jeeze man! Looks like I can't call you grass stain anymore!" Cyborg joked.

"Starfire, you did that all on your own?" asked Robin in total astonishment.

"I guess I did do a rather pleasant job," said Starfire modestly. "I learned a lot from those convenient short videos on the internet on the youtubing," she added.

"You sure did do a great job," Robin said smiling.

"So what else do we have to go over before we get going?" wondered Raven, trying to prepare herself for the upcoming mission.

Robin cleared his throat as if trying to snap the team back to the task.


	10. Chapter 10

The team turned their heads to stare at Robin, whose mind was doing flips in a sea of adrenaline. Since there was so little known about what they were up against and this entire mission was unlike anything they've done before, nobody came up with a play by play; just a basic skeleton to follow. However, this would never diminish the importance of redistributing the team's roles once more for reinforcement before he allowed them to continue the task.

"Just to remind you guys: Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg, you go first to the dance while Starfire and I wait for your okay. Don't enter all at once and if you decide to take the T-car, make sure it never makes an appearance towards the building. You don't want to be recognized. Get as close to the two of them as possible without being caught on to. We want to try to get every detail possible. Is that clear to everyone?" he finished.

"So what happens after this whole thing?" asked Beast Boy a little confused.

"We have to play that by ear because we don't know what's going to happen as a result of tonight's work. If anything, we'll all just meet back at the tower," he answered.

"It's already past five-thirty. Should we start leaving?" directed Raven.

"Sounds fine," agreed Robin.

Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg trailed into the garage for the second time that day to get into the T-car. Cyborg decided that he would park the vehicle several blocks away from the club. It was easier to just to drive the T-car and park somewhere else than to disguise Raven or Beast Boy flying them over. It was also much faster and time was becoming an increasingly important factor. After the car was parked in a back parking lot of a store four blocks away, the three got out to walk the rest of the distance. They each obtained some money in order to pay the entering fee, and ventured out into the night.

Beast Boy got out of the car and quickly turned to look at Raven. He could sense how uncomfortable she became. He figured between dressing in normal clothes, wearing contacts, being forced to enter a dark room with flashing lights where her least favorite activity (human contact) is the main objective, and on top of that, her emotions becoming vehement and unpredictable, meant an absolute torment within her head. He shot a comforting glance in her direction, but she never looked up from the ground to see it. He decided to fall back behind Cyborg slightly in order to be next to Raven. He gently touched her shoulder with his single hand which made her jolt almost her entire body. She was so fixated in her own thoughts that she let the outside world dangerously fade so that she was barely paying attention. She relaxed just slightly when she realized that it was Beast Boy.

"You'll be fine," he reassuringly whispered to her.

"Hurry up slow pokes!" called Cyborg while continuing to walk at his usual fast pace.

Raven looked over at Beast Boy and caught his comforting smile. She returned a shadow of a smile as he picked up his stride to match Cyborg's while Raven lingered.

"C'mon Raven! We've got no time to lose!" warned Cyborg in an urgent, but quiet voice.

"I'll stay back here. We're not supposed to enter at the same time, remember?"

Cyborg nodded and both he and Beast Boy continued in their quick walk, leaving Raven about three yards behind. Raven just let her head fall back down and her eyes follow the moving sidewalk below her trudging feet. She took simple deep breaths and tried to clear her mind. There was no sense in denying that it was troubled; she had to act on it before it blew their cover. The last thing she needed was another episode in the club where the mission would be ruined and they would be even more behind on the mystery than the team already was. She couldn't stand to think of the disappointment in Robin's face if something like that transpired.

Before she knew it, she heard the heart-pounding bass from the horrendous music playing within the building. She felt it rumble into her stomach as it flipped like a trapeze artist. She looked up and saw that the immense structure was right before her. It looked and certainly sounded more petrifying than she anticipated. She stood still for barely two seconds when two girls sloppily bumped into her and continued to stumble back into the club's depths hysterically laughing the whole way, making Raven wonder if either buffoon even took notice to their rude collide with her. She cuffed her hand tightly around the bill in her pocket as she walked up the three cement steps and into the first section roped off which was where she needed to pay. Not even waiting for the peppy woman at the podium to ask, she handed the bill over and just walked in.

Raven squinted and put her arm up to her face to protect her adjusting eyes from the sudden outbreak of unnecessary neon lights. She immediately let her free hand search for a wall to press against in order to steer way of the traffic of giddy dancers. When her eyes reduced to a slight sting, she began searching for Beast Boy and Cyborg. When she spotted them, they were both already looking at her from across the room. They gave her a subtle nod and began their searching.

Raven took one last deep breath and braced herself for diving into the pool of reckless and unpredictable people. She speedily walked right into the pit to prevent herself from chickening out. As she walked through, she just kept looking for faces. She had no idea what this Julie girl looked like, but she undoubtedly couldn't forget a face like Victor's. She looked at the time and was alarmed to see that it was already a quarter past six. She groaned in frustration and wondered when this torture would end. She had no idea how much longer she- or her emotions- could handle this.

She continued to search and had her share of collisions with the intense dancers. Embarrassed at first, she would mumble an apology to them, which she highly doubted any of them could hear anyway, but after another horrible twenty minutes she just continued on her erratic path without a mere flinch. However, she would always take a quick glance at them to see if it was Victor or anyone else that they should be on the lookout for. Another fruitless fifteen minutes passed and still there was no sign of Victor. Raven desperately hoped that Beast Boy and Cyborg were having different luck, but it was unlikely because she would have gotten some kind of alert.

Suddenly, it hit her like a torpedo. She sensed his presence and it was fairly close. She started moving at a faster pace, trying to find him before it was too late. While continuing her search at a rapid rate, she accidently hit right into Beast Boy. Without wasting a second, she very quickly cupped her hands to his hat to about where his ears were hidden and said, "I sense Victor." It was nearly impossible for any bystanders to hear over the pounding music. Beast Boy alerted Cyborg with his communicator and Raven and Beast Boy saw a large shadow start to move a little quicker.

They three walked throughout the dance floor for about five minutes when Beast Boy spotted him. He tugged on Raven's sleeve very slightly and followed his gaze to meet an overly cocky teen, maybe seventeen, with a girl dressed in garments that hardly classified as clothes dancing on his hip. That was him alright. Beast Boy only had to look just off into the distance to get Cyborg's attention. When their eyes met, Beast Boy just tilted his head in Victor's direction. Cyborg faintly nodded his head and sent a beeping signal to Robin in order to give him the direction that he and Starfire had been waiting for all evening.

Both Beast Boy and Raven separated and circled as close to him as they could without raising suspicion. Cyborg soon joined, but a little further away, pretending to enjoy the music and lively dancing. So far, Victor had done nothing but invite women to dance with him. None of them were Julie, but it was assumable that he wanted to come early in order to get some partying in. This scene lasted for about ten minutes. Raven couldn't help but roll her eyes every time another woman dressed in almost nothing would waltz up to him and allow his grimy hands fall wherever they pleased. It churned her stomach and made her unintentionally grimace.

Suddenly, Raven's stomach's summer-salts picked up velocity when his head snapped in her direction. She quickly looked down and swore under her breath; she was caught and she ruined the entire mission. Her heart beat so rapidly that she was sure it would break through her chest. He slowly walked towards her, so Raven tried to scurry in the other direction and become lost within the crowd. Before she could get there, both of his hands latched onto her waist. Her mind raced and she was just about to elbow him in the gut and try to make an escape before he could hurt her.

"Wanna dance?" he whispered in her ear seductively.

Raven lowered her arm, but clenched her fists. Her fear subsided, but in its place came the humiliation and anger. She felt bile rising in her throat as his hips began to rotate just under hers. She stood there like a stone and prepared her searing vocal chords to reject him. Then her stomach sank even lower when she took a grasp on the situation. In a sick, twisted way, this was probably the best thing that could have happened for this mission. She was literally as close to him as she could get without raising suspicion… Robin's words ringed in her ears. As much as this disgusted her, she knew she could not ruin a chance like this. It was a sacrifice that had to be made. She forced her muscles to relax and made a valiant attempt to follow the rhythm of his movements.

Beast Boy froze when he saw Victor slither his way over to Raven. His heart skipped a beat as he got closer and closer. _We're screwed_ he thought, but he sprinted over to protect Raven. It would be a cold day in hell before he let that slimy kid hurt her. Suddenly, Beast Boy stopped dead in his tracks. He watched in distress as Victor's hands made their way to her hips and his lips nearly kissing her ear. His body was pressed up against hers as he danced provocatively on her back. Beast Boy's eyes narrowed, his hands formed fists inside of his sleeves, his jaw fixed itself in a lock, and his entire body seemed to shake in fury. He marched over to Victor and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around in clear annoyance, but kept his arms tightly woven around Raven.

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?" asked Victor exasperated.

"I think you should leave her alone. She's not interested," Beast Boy stated in a cold tone.

"She looks _pretty_ interested to me," laughed Victor then lightly kissed her neck which only sent Beast Boy to another level of rage as he bit his lip, trying very hard not to knock him out.

Raven stiffened at the icy touch of his lips to her neck. She unwrapped herself from Victor's grasp to talk to Beast Boy.

"Who is this guy?" asked Victor annoyed.

"My brother."

"Her neighbor," they both said at the same time. They gave each other a nervous glance.

"He's my neighbor's brother," Raven concluded while shooting Beast Boy a glare.

"Do you want me to get rid of him?" asked Victor hinting at the beating he intended to give him for interrupting his fun.

"No, no. It's fine, I'll just talk to him," she reassured him.

"Will you come back?" he whined.

"Of course," she blankly replied.

Victor allowed her to walk away, but at the last second, he looked Beast Boy in the eyes and grabbed Raven's butt just to tease him. Beast Boy felt a growl forming in the back of his throat and had to prevent himself from turning into a bear and mauling him to death. Raven whipped her head back and was one second away from throwing him into another dimension, but she knew that if she was going to fool him, she had to play the part. Her fuming façade swiftly unwrinkled and she forced out a giggle while holding back her gag reflexes.

When turning back to Beast Boy he could see the defeat in her face. Her eyes were sullen and her clenched jaw resembled the swallowed resentment. His body relaxed almost trivially when she walked away from Victor and to the safety of his own arm reach.

"What is your problem?" she hissed.

"_My_ problem? What is _your_ problem? What are you thinking?" he shouted.

"Quiet down," she warned.

"Sorry," he mumbled through his teeth.

"Beast Boy, I have to do this. It's impossible to hear anything in here. The only way that any of us are going to find out what's going on is if one of us is standing shoulder to shoulder with him. _You_ can barely hear anything and you have the hearing of the best animals."

"Yeah, shoulder to shoulder! Not mouth to mouth!" he spat.

"It hasn't even gotten to that point and I won't let it! Just let me do what I have to do. I can handle myself," she nearly shrieked with her face heating up from being simply mortified.

"He's treating you like some kind of toy! When he looks at you… Uggghhh! Rae, if you could just see the look in his eyes, it's no good!" he warned angrily.

"Do you really think that this isn't pushing up every bit of today's food? He's a disgrace to life forms all over the universe. This is bothering me just as much as it's bothering you, but I know where I have to put the team and the safety of this city before myself," she explained.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you're actually enjoying this," he wrongly accused.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," she said keeping her jaw from hitting the ground.

"All I'm saying is that you're not acting like you tonight," he defended.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not supposed to be me right now! I'm in this uncomfortable disguise in a dark room with flashing neon lights, and making constant accidental contact with grown people wearing clothes in sizes that I've seen Melvin wear! I'm extremely irritated and the last thing I need is for you to tell me how to get answers when I clearly know exactly what I'm risking and how stupid the whole act is! I get it. Now I have a mission to complete and I suggest that you do the same," she finished off.

Beast Boy didn't say a word. He just narrowed his eyes, crossed his arms, and let her walk back to Victor who grabbed her like a slab of meat. It sickened him to watch, but he couldn't take his eyes off of the two of them. All of a sudden, he realized that Cyborg was standing right behind him with his one eye wide and his mouth open in astonishment.

"Well, she sure told you," he finally coughed out.

"Just shut up," he said through clenched teeth as he turned back to stare at them.

"BB, you know she has everything under control," Cyborg tried to reassure him, but it was rather difficult to sound comforting and still be heard over the shouting and music all around. Cyborg would have stopped her himself, but he heard the way she snapped at Beast Boy and that indicated that there was no talking her out of it. Besides, there wasn't much he could do without trashing the plan.

Beast Boy didn't bother replying; he just glowered at the two of them. He watched as Victor kept her in a constant wrap of his arms and Raven shivered from the intensity that her emotions were stirring up. Something had to happen fast, or Raven was going to combust.

Robin and Starfire entered the room, hand and hand. One girl slung her arm around Robin's shoulders and Starfire nearly ripped it off and stormed away, dragging Robin with her. Cyborg noticed the two of them and made direct eye contact with both of them and motioned with a tilt of his head to come over. The longer he could keep Robin from noticing Victor and Raven, the better.

Raven felt the darkness of anger from within her growing at an alarming rate. She had to keep this under control with every ounce of her energy or more than the mission would be lost. She almost regretted doing this, but in all honesty, if rage overtakes her in Victor's arms and she winds up smothering him, she wouldn't be so devastated. Of course, when the human contact results in rage and embarrassment, it's easier to hold in her inner explosions because she has dealt with it before numerous times. However, if there had been any loving feelings attached to the encounter, the emotions would have been much more difficult to hold down because it was nothing she was used to. Thus, she trusted herself to make this sacrifice of her dignity in order to save the team. There were more important aspects in the equation than just her. Suddenly, Victor let go of Raven and put his mouth to her ear which made her flinch.

"I'm supposed to meet a friend here. I've gotta go," he said.

"Wait!" Raven exclaimed. She had to follow him. "I don't want to leave you," she whined trying to act more like the majority of the people.

"Aw, babe, I'll be right back," he smiled.

Raven's hand instinctively went up to slap him in the face at the sound of the atrocious pet name, but half way up, she managed to resist. "Can't I just go with you?" she asked with the slightest hint of emotion. She kicked herself for not being a better actress.

"I don't know," he trailed off, looking behind her.

Raven turned her head and found a young woman with curly dark hair. "But we're having too much fun," she enticed using a little more emotion this time. It was much easier to fake an emotion than actually feel it.

"Why not," he finally agreed. He tried to take her hand, but Raven pretended to suddenly have an itch on her arm so that she had an excuse for snatching away her sweaty hands. She just followed him to who Raven hoped was Julie.

Robin and Starfire made their way over to where Cyborg and Beast Boy were standing. Cyborg sighed in relief when he saw Victor leave with Raven, but he pushed Beast Boy to follow them and keep an eye out and an ear open for any kind of signal. He complied angrily and stomped off to follow them.

"What has been troubling him?" asked Starfire, careful not to use his name.

"I have no idea," Cyborg lied."But we found Victor and we're still on the lookout for Julie."

"Okay, but where did Raven go?" asked Robin skeptically and only lowered his voice to a whisper at her name.

"She's following Victor," he responded.

"Where are they?" Robin asked eagerly.

"That's where Beast Boy is headed right now. He's going to give us a signal when he finds them."

Raven followed behind Victor who followed Julie as she led them to a sectioned off room closed in by a curtain where the lighting was a bit darker and the music was a little lower. There wasn't anybody else located in this part which made hearing a lot easier, yet made seeing a little more difficult from the lack of proper lighting.

"Who's she?" Julie immediately asked as they entered the room.

"Just some chic I'm dancin' with," he smirked.

"Victor! You can't have anyone else in here," she warned in annoyance.

"No worries! She'll have no idea what we're even talking about," he begged.

"No, she can't be here," Julie warned again.

"C'mon! We'll be really vague. She won't understand or hear anything we're talking about," he urged. Victor may have acted witty, but lust always clogged his proper brain function.

"Whatever, we don't have time to argue," she rushed. Raven silently felt a wave of victory fill her and allowed her adrenaline to focus on the difficult task.

"I already have it set up," she mentioned.

"You serious? Already?"

"It was easy because nearly everyone wanted in... or out I should say. I assume you got your brother to help spread the word because a lot of them already knew about it; they just needed my details."

"Yeah, I did. When is this goin' down?"

"That's the sick part. He already started," she smiled deviously.

Raven's heart sank. Were they too late?

Beast Boy discreetly followed the three of them and noticed that they were following in the direction of Julie. He caught a glimpse of her crystal eyes as she led them into another room with a curtain rather than a door. He smiled a little when he saw Raven standing independently from Victor's gripping claws. As they disappeared from his sight, he quickly made his way to the wall and tried to listen as closely as he could, but all he could hear were muffles and voice inflictions. He called in Cyborg from his communicator. Beast Boy held it to his ear to disguise it as a cell phone and luckily, Cyborg did the same.

"Ah, here he is now," announced Cyborg to Starfire and Robin.

"I found them. Julie led the two of them into one of the back rooms and they're talking about something that sounds important. Raven is still with them and I'm outside of the wall, but I can barely hear anything. I'll let you know if I hear anything important," Beast Boy explained in a voice of urgency. It made him a little nervous that he couldn't exactly see what was going on with Raven still in there.

"Got it," said Cyborg as he hung up.

"What did friend Beast Boy say?" wondered Starfire.

"Okay, Julie, Victor, and Raven are in one of the back rooms and Beast Boy is under close watch," he reported keeping his voice low enough for only the three of them to hear it.

"So we should continue to search around the place for anything else that looks out of-" Robin was cut off by the unmistakable sound of everyone's team beeper, signaling danger within the city. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg quickly turned down the noise before anyone noticed an off-key and off-beat component to the music they soulfully moved to.

Robin suddenly froze as his mind focused on something even more dangerous than the unknown alert. "Raven!"

"For real?" asked Victor in amazement.

"Yeah, he said that his weapon is already a huge success, so there was really no time to waste."

"Alright, awesome!" said Victor excitedly.

"All I had to do was disrupt some cameras, distract the right people, and he did the rest. Of course, all of this isn't even the best part. It's just the beginning," she greedily mentioned.

"I am one happy guy," Victor announced as he sat back and put an arm around Raven.

She felt her body jolt at his touch as if his fingers were live jumper cables. She could feel the heat of extreme rage fill the paleness of her cheeks as his other hand found its place on her upper thigh and his face leaned into hers, gradually making his way to her mouth. She felt her body shaking and tried as quickly as she could to clear her head before her emotion broke out. A fraction of a second before her breaking point was reached, the two of them jumped back at the sound of her communicator. It flashed red lights from her pocket and erupted with sound. Her eyes widened in fear as she looked up at him and then at Julie who looked rather confused.

"Aren't you gonna get that?" she asked.

"Huh?" asked Raven.

"I think your cell phone is beeping or something," she elaborated.

"Oh, yeah, my… cell phone. You know what, I'm just going to leave that," she said trying to prevent the need for her to take it out and have them see the recognizable large "T" on the front.

"Whatever," Julie replied, rolling her doll eyes.

"Imbeciles! That's Raven from the Teen Titans!" came a voice from the shadows of the room.

Raven shot her head up. It's been a long time since she's heard that voice, but it was a voice she would never forget. It cut threw her like a set of a shark's teeth and sent chills down her spine. Fear and fury usually raced through her veins in a fiery combination that made her throat lump, her jaw lock, and her stomach fall. She saw Julie whimper and Victor freeze just before she felt an exploding bang across her face. She fell to the floor with a grunt and a fit of dizziness.

She tasted blood in her mouth, but she stood up on her knees and hissed, "Slade."

**Hey guys, sorry that this chapter took me so long to write. I was worried that I made the characters steer away from their regular behaviors, so I added more inner thoughts and took out certain actions to clean it up a bit while still using the same general idea. I hope you still liked it anyway .**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys, I tried to update this as quickly as I could, but I still didn't want to rush it. Sorry for the painful cliff hanger in the last chapter XD.**

"Ah Raven, I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't remember me," he teased in his calm, yet twisted voice.

"How could I possibly forget such an important figure in my life?" she sarcastically said through a fat lip as he stalked closer.

Beast Boy stood outside of the wall, trying not to picture what was going on in there. It was making him angrier with every passing second. He jumped back just a little when he heard the alarm on his communicator. Whatever the trouble was, it would have to wait because he wasn't leaving Raven in there alone with those two; especially with Victor taking such a high liking to her. What made him think he even has a chance with her anyway? He's scum and Raven is-

The thought was violently cut off when he heard a series of yells and a thud come from behind the curtain. Beast Boy's nostrils filled with what his animalistic instincts determined was the unmistakable sent of blood. But not just anyone's blood; it was Raven's.

This evoked Beast Boy's mind to go into a sea of turmoil. He felt his body getting ready to transform into a lion and tear down the curtain when he stopped temporarily to hear an enormous explosion. People began to scream as the wall to the building crumbled to the ground. Through the dense smoke of the rubble, appeared numerous escaped villains walking through the opening.

"Titans go!" demanded Robin as the rest of the team sprang into action.

Beast Boy didn't follow the team and instead transformed into a lion and ripped through the curtain with a bone-chilling roar to come to Raven's rescue. His claws latched onto the fabric and with a single slice, it fell to the floor along with the brass bar holding it up with a loud _clang_. Raven was struggling to get up while Slade was slowly walking towards her. Both Julie and Victor were cowering behind the leather couch, trying to stay clear of the upcoming brawl.

"Aw, how sweet; he came to save you," said Slade. The smile was clearly heard in his voice.

"Beast Boy, get out of here," Raven hissed.

With that, Beast Boy lunged onto Slade, giving Raven a chance to flee. However, Raven loyally remained in the dark room to help him fight the battle. As she stood up on wobbling legs, she raised her hands and focused on the brass bar that was laying on the floor just behind her. Trying to obtain correct aim was extremely difficult with the two of them moving around so much.

Beast Boy grabbed his arm in his strong jaw and began biting down, trying to wear down the metal of his suit. Slade tried desperately to free himself. Repeatedly hitting the green lion over the head with his other fist was starting to make him dizzy, but his jaws refused to unlock.

"Beast Boy, move!" Raven ordered.

Beast Boy took a very quick look at Raven's glowing eyes and outstretched hand and understood immediately. He released Slade's arm and jumped back.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven shouted as the bar lifted into the air and flew into Slade's head with a momentum strong enough to knock an average person unconscious, but Slade only fell to the floor which gave both Raven and Beast Boy a split second to get out.

Seeing that Beast Boy's blows to the head were taking a toll on his balance, Raven rushed over to him and grabbed his arm. She yanked it around her shoulders and ran out with him. Moving out of the separated room, Raven gasped when she saw a mass of people screaming and running for their lives from the army of escaped villains. She witnessed Cyborg blasting another exit through the wall to allow another option to fleeting people so that there wouldn't be any trampling. Starfire was flying above with her face in a mess of determination and fearlessness. She was shooting star bolts down at Control Freak who was unfortunately successfully blocking them with a dark shield that activated from a push of a button on his remote control. Robin was twisting and turning in carefully exploited kung-fu moves, using them against Mumbo who was feverishly hitting hit with cards pulled from his hat.

Suddenly, Killer Moth appeared in front of Raven, blocking her path. She released Beast Boy gently and he managed to stand his ground. Her eyes glowed as a warning, but Killer Moth just laughed and leaned forward. A chill ran down Raven's spine as she sensed Slade getting dangerously close.

"Don't bother fighting them, just grab them," he ordered with a snarl.

Before either could react, they were pinned to the floor. Beast Boy transformed into a hippo and pushed him off. With a loud grunt, Killer Moth landed a few yards back and right on top of his whinny daughter Kitten who screeched out in pain. Both Raven and Beast Boy stood up to fight their approaching enemy, but Slade continued to walk forward, still very casually. His serine attitude was eerie to both heroes because of a very simple logic: If Slade was still this collected, it clearly symbolized that everything he wanted was going exactly the way he intended it to.

"There is no need to fight me young ones. I just wanted to drop by and tell you something. Something I think you may find to catch your concern," he explained in his usual soothing voice.

By this time, all of the innocent bystanders left the premises thanks to Cyborg's quick thinking in blasting another exit. Now he was in the middle of an intense battle with Adonis who unfortunately found his way back to his sturdy robotic suit. They were locked above their heads, hand in hand, pushing each other in the opposite direction. When Adonis's strength was becoming too much for Cyborg to hold, he pulled the brute so that he lost balance between the force of his own push and Cyborg's clever yank forward. As Adonis fell to the floor, Cyborg was able to twist out of the way and then jump on him with his fist driving into his back. Adonis yelled in pain and shot his leg upward. Cyborg dodged the first one, but missed the second blow with made him roll off of Adonis's back. Cyborg's human nervous system sent a shooting pain signal down his neck and into his arm. He winced, but got right back up to kick Adonis back down and blast him before he even knew what was coming. Adonis was sent skidding across the floor with the blue flash of Cyborg's cannon following. The impact and the rough dance floor wrecked most of his suit, leaving him defeated.

"Boo-Yah!" yelled Cyborg in victory, but Mammoth quickly ran up behind him and thrust a fist in his back with a devious smile.

Starfire who is often seen as sweet and polite was now fuming with frustration at Control Freak. No matter what angle she tried to blast him with her star bolts, he had it blocked with a strange force field from his remote control. He laughed his idiotic, loud laughter after every one of her attempts. Starfire's teeth bore and her fists were tightly clenched. With every new blast, she growled. Flying above him, she tried flying into him as fast as she could, but only wound up sliding to a halt and allowing her hip to hit into the unyielding force field, rather than her head. She screamed at impact and she fell to the floor. Control Freak attempted to kick her, but she grabbed his foot and pulled it so that he fell flat on his back. He grunted and quickly got back up, but Starfire was already high in the air. Again, she flew into him with such high momentum. As he put up the shield, at the last second, Starfire flipped over him, grabbed his long hair to keep him in place and kicked him so hard that he fell back to the ground and crushed his own remote. At the sound of the crunch, he started to cry. Starfire was happy to defeat him, but shuddered at the amount of grease she had all over her hand from touching his hair.

Robin was fighting off Mumbo and his endless tricks in his hat. Dodging every card thrown at him, Robin got close enough to the mad man to punch him in the face. Mumbo fell to the floor, but got up with his wand out. Purple goo flew out of it and hit Robin in the face, making his world go dark for two terrifying seconds. Mumbo used this as a chance to rush over to him and head-butt him to the ground. Robin used the muscles in his legs to thrust him upward and into a kick which hit Mumbo right in the stomach. Temporarily injured, Robin threw one of his blades that he kept in his jean's pocket and split Mumbo's hat in half. Without wasting time, Robin kicked him again, snatched his wand, and snapped it into four pieces.

Robin looked around and saw two of his friends fighting, but not Raven nor Beast Boy. Where could they have gone? Searching frantically for them, he twisted his neck in every direction until he saw them. They were standing next to each other and in separate fighting stances. Suddenly, Robin's mind went berserk. In front of them, he saw Slade, and he was getting closer and closer to the two of them. Without thinking, Robin began racing over to the scene. He had a feeling that Slade was behind all of this.

Slade waited for both of them to comply, but he noticed too soon that Robin had spotted him. Slade knew too well that Robin wanted more than anything to capture him. His eyes narrowed in disappointment, but he had planned for something like this too.

"Overload! Get the lights!" he demanded suddenly, making Beast Boy and Raven jump.

"There's nothing you can do Titans. I'm going to take down this pathetic city and the rest of the world. It will all be under _my_ control," Slade shouted his warning.

Overload glowed in the already pretty dark room and jumped into the wires and blew out the entire circuit system not only within the building, but for the next three blocks throughout the city. The electric sizzled loudly and then went dead silent. All of the Titans frantically looked around and realized that all of the villains that they thought were just swallowed in the darkness were actually gone.

Abruptly, Raven felt a harsh tug on her shoulder. She froze as she smelt Slade's rancid breath and felt his face directly next to her ear. A shiver tore through her entire body, but before she could get herself to move, Slade was already speaking.

"And you're going to help me do it," he hissed before disappearing.

Raven felt her breath being sucked right out of her as her heart shattered. He was going to use her. How, she didn't know, but he knew her full potential and he knew damn well how to use it to his advantage. She felt her entire body shaking and felt the room spinning. It's truly a terrorizing feeling to know that her powers were somehow in jeopardy of being used by a mad man. But how did he plan to make her comply? What did he want with her this time?

Beast Boy caught on to her weariness and squeezed her arm to get her to respond. His face filled with worry and guilt. He knew he shouldn't have let her stay with Victor, but he let her talk him into leaving her alone. Robin was calling all of them to the outside of the building, so that they could figure out what just happened. He felt Raven's muscles become mobile again and before he could grab onto her, she stalked away, leaving him there bewildered.

"So team, let's split up and search the town for any sign of them. They couldn't have gotten too far," hoped Robin.

Starfire and Raven floated into the air and went in opposite directions to search the town. Cyborg took off his sweatshirt and used his arm scanner to search for the enemies while Robin raced off to get his motorcycle that he parked a couple of blocks from the dismantled building. Beast Boy looked up and saw Raven erratically soaring in the night sky. He quickly transformed into a falcon, which can fly at top speeds, and attempted to follow her.

He knew that she wouldn't even have to look behind her to know that it was him, so startling her shouldn't be an issue; however, as he got closer, Raven tried everything in her effort to fly faster. Confused, Beast Boy just followed her. Eventually realizing that she couldn't shake him, Raven lowered herself to the ground clumsily and tried to continue on foot. Beast Boy too let himself gracefully meet the ground where he turned back into himself. He took of his bulk sweat shirt and tried to wipe off all of the make-up that smothered his face.

"Hey, Rae! Wait up! I just want to talk to you," he called, running after her.

"I just have to be alone right now," she trembled.

"Rae, I'm here for you, just talk to me," he aimed to lightly touch her shoulder.

"I told you to leave me alone," she said icily as she swiftly dodged his approaching hand without looking back.

"Just try-"

"No!" she shouted with her anger getting the better of her, causing her eyes to flash red.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed jumping back and watched her shake her head violently and dash off.

His ears drooped as he let her go. _Why is she so angry with me?_ he worriedly thought as he sniffed himself just to make sure his body wasn't radiating a putrid odor. His heart felt heavy at another failed attempt to make a difference, but it surly wasn't the last. For now, he let her be because whatever was eating at her, he happened to make it worse somehow.

"Robin, I have fallen to the sleepiness. May we please proceed in the searching process when the earth sun has risen?" Starfire yawned over the communicator.

"Yeah man, this is pointless. We would have found them by now if they were in the city," added Cyborg.

"Team, please! Push yourselves to keep searching; this shouldn't take much longer," Robin ordered followed by groans of disappointment.

Eventually, after hours of gist-less searching, and frequent persuasions Robin called for everyone to come back to the tower over the communicator. Even if the team located the assembly, there would be no way that they could battle an inevitable fight. They trudged back into the Titan's Tower, but Robin refused to let the go to bed just yet. With Starfire's head lying down on the armrest of the couch, her eyes were just about closing.

"Quick status update before we finish for the night. What have you guys collectively found?" asked Robin.

"Well, nearly all of the villains that we threw in jail are out to kick our butts with Slade, who is supposed to be dead for the nine hundredth time, as the head leader," stated Cyborg irritated.

"Anything that isn't obvious?" sighed Robin with crossed arms.

"Well I think Raven would know best. She got, uh… the closest to Victor, Julie, and Slade," recalled Cyborg who felt Beast Boy's entire body stiffen next to him.

"Raven, what have you found?" asked Robin eagerly.

It took Raven a second to finally answer. "He found a new weapon," she said flatly.

"A new weapon? Could you be a little more specific?" urged Robin.

"Yeah, it's me," she finished coldly.

The room fell silent at the fall of her words. The team knew very well of her detrimental abilities, but they knew that Slade probably knew more from working with her father, Trigon. The worry filled the room so thickly that it could crush paper.

"How does he plan to do this?" asked Robin breaking the silence.

"I don't know," she said emotionlessly.

"What does he want to do with it?"

"I don't know."

"When is he going to do it?"

"If you haven't noticed Robin, there's a bit of a pattern here," she said bluntly.

"I'm sorry Raven, I understand… We need to keep you under protection," he demanded.

"You don't know how desperate he is Robin. I don't want anyone getting hurt. I'll fix this myself," she demanded right back.

"Raven, we're a team. Our duty is not only to the city, but to each other too. We fought what was inside of you once and we can do it again," he reassured her.

"There's not much you can do Robin," she said putting her head down.

"That's what you said the last time and look how that ended up. You don't even know what he's going to do yet. It could be something very simple to fix. I'm not letting you give up that fast," he encouraged, trying to smile.

Raven just looked up at him, trying to fight her tears. "Robin, I just- I don't know."

"None of us know for sure what we're up against, but we won't let it take us down. I promise," he smiled and cupped her hands into his. "There's nothing Slade, or his army, can do to rip us from the hope and faith that we have in you."

Raven took in a deep breath and released carefully. "Okay," was all she could say without the lump in the back of her throat breaking.

"Alright titans, I think it's time we go to bed," Robin allowed while still smiling at Raven.

"May your night be good!" Starfire called to the rest of the team as she put her arm around Robin who kissed her lightly.

"Goodnight y'all ," called Cyborg. "And Raven, I've got your back no matter what," he smiled at her.

Raven couldn't resist her own smile. Beast Boy didn't say a word, but he stayed back to follow Raven to her room. He knew she'd sense him, but his room was the same way. They all walked to their chambers where they couldn't wait to rest their troubled heads.

"You're following me again," said Raven without even turning her neck.

"Look, I just wanted to tell you that I'm looking out for you," he said fiddling with his fingers anxiously.

Raven could sense his nervousness, so she decided to turn around. "I know and thanks."

"Well, what I really meant was that I'll be listening for you tonight. I know you've been having bad dreams and I'm just wondering why you didn't mention that to the team before," he questioned.

"Beast Boy, I have to figure this out on my own. What Robin said was sweet, but unrealistic. I'm not letting any of you get hurt," she said with no other emotion other than her despondence.

"Whatever you say Rae," he rolled his eyes, "but I _will _be listening for you."

"No, you need to rest."  
"Even though you disagree, I just don't know how you'd even stop me," he challenged.

"Do you have any idea what you're risking if you get yourself involved with these matters?" she asked angrily, trying to entice him out of it.

"What am I risking Rae, my life?" he nearly shouted. "I'm risking a lot more if I let you suffer through this alone," he finished with a serious face that looked so strange on him, that Raven couldn't help but stare. His words were so sincere that it tore at her soul. There was something else in those strong words; something she didn't understand that was mangled within his emotional spectrum, yet there were many things she didn't understand lately.

"Don't call me Rae," was all she could say through clenched teeth after a moment of silence and turned away to go to her room.

Behind her, Beast Boy smiled and went in the opposite direction to his room.

Raven continued forward and opened her door to enter her bedroom that was fairly dark except for the small stream of moonlight that entered through her window. She sighed sadly and drew the curtains completely closed. The room became nearly pitch black, but just a little light still fell through. Raven changed out of her clothes and back into her leotard where she felt most comfortable. She climbed into her bed, beneath the soft blanket, and stared intensely up at the ceiling. All of today's horrors came back to haunt her while she attempted to find rest. She heard the people screaming and the crashing of building walls. Her stomach twisted in knots of anxiety as she thought back to Slade's sharp words. She couldn't let her friends risk their lives for her. Their optimism is touching, but senseless. They had no idea what they were up against; not even she knew.

Robin was a great friend to her especially in times of crisis. He always knew how to make the light fall through a dark situation. He said once before that she was the most hopeful person he knew. It was because of her dark past and how it was always written in the book of time that she would destroy the world, and how she managed to strive to overcome that burden; that evil living inside of her, threatening to surface at any moment. Trying to save a world that she was supposed to destroy made her a hero somehow. A free thinker. What Robin refused to overlook was that Raven did it because she felt that she owed the world. She felt that if she did so much good, it would excuse her for being the demise of the planet. She felt it was an obligation to put her life on the line for the people that she would utterly vanquish in the end. It wasn't because of hope, not even for self-righteousness, but because she felt that she was undeserving of a life any simpler. Did this just make her a coward rather than hopeful and enlightening? It was like hiding from the evil under a deep blanket of the good that she's done. She wanted to work her whole life to ignore the darkness. Unfortunately, the suppressed memory remained buried. It was because she made such amazing friends who raised her better than any mother or father of hers. She thought she had escaped the prophecy altogether, but she couldn't run. She felt foolish for falling for the erroneous victory. The destruction of the world at her own hands would have to come at some point because it's her only destiny; her only purpose. It was her friends that saved the world the first time, not her. It was their hope, not hers. They had to be burdened to clean up her mess. Robin was wrong. Raven felt pathetic and vapid, deserving nothing more than eternal loneliness where she could hurt no one but herself. She didn't deserve her friends. Now, she surely didn't deserve for them to risk their lives for her.

What was Beast Boy talking about? How could anyone put their lives before hers? She was meant to destroy everything she has ever touched. A person as beautiful as Beast Boy should never sink himself to her low status. He deserved a greater ending and not at her expense. She wasn't worth his time. Not now, not years ago, not tomorrow, and definitely not in years to come. He has so much to live for and it made her sick that she might be the one to ruin it. She was worse than she ever thought.

Reluctantly, sleep grabbed at her muscles, making them weary and soar. Her eyelids had little choice but to fall closed as her mind raced and led her into another nightmare.


	12. Chapter 12

The land was barren, but surly terrifying. The wind ripped through the air and cut at Raven's exposed skin. She tried to seek shelter by tugging her cloak closer to her body, but it was futile. The grey ground stretched on and on for miles with the dense night sky above. There weren't any stars to shine, but the moon glowed with an eerie smirk as if mocking Raven. Her body trembled as the night grew darker and much colder.

Suddenly, she saw a small lump lying on the ground several yards away from her. Growing curious and wary, she attempted to pick up her speed, but no matter how much effort she put in lifting her legs to a wider stride, they just dragged as if attached to lead. Because her feet were dragging with such force, loose gravel kicked up into her face. She coughed violently and furiously blinked her eyes to get the dry dirt out, but nothing worked. This time, she pushed even harder to move faster and again, she could only drag her feet and remain at the gradual pace she had.

As the figure came closer and closer into view, she realized the green pigment and her heart split. Beast Boy was lying on the ground helplessly. Knowing that running would do no good, she tried to scream, but the harsh wind filled her throat and dried it out while drowning out whatever noise came out and turned the sound waves into nothing more than a trivial whistle often made by the wind itself. Unable to calm down, she tried even harder and harder to break this slow spell, but nothing could shake it, but luckily, Beast Boy was getting closer and closer.

After an agonizing duration of time that felt like days, Raven reached his body. She immediately collapsed next to him on her knees. His chest and arms were bare and she could see the cuts forming on his delicate skin from the bitter cold, cracking it sternly. She quickly unfastened her cloak and tried to wrap it around him, but the wind grabbed it and tossed it out of her reach. She didn't want to waste time trying to run again, so she sadly watched as it floated away and was left there to shiver. Looking at Beast Boy again, she realized that he wasn't moving which also meant no indication of breath. Startled, she leaned in on his chest and heard nothing inside of it.

"No… Beast Boy! Can you hear me? Tell me you can hear me!" she shrieked in denial.

When no answer came, she grew more and more troubled.

"Someone help! Anybody!" she cried.

The only sound was the whistling wind.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she chanted while holding her hand over his body, but her powers were non-existent.

"Come on!" she said through clenched teeth frustrated and tears alighting her cheeks.

"Beast Boy! Wake up!" she shook him while still crying.

"Help! He's hurt!" she shouted again, but there was not a soul to hear her.

"It's all my fault," she whispered taking his hand and brushing it on her face.

She rested her head on his bare chest and sobbed into it.

"Why did you have to try to save me? I told you it was pointless! Now you're dead! You're dead and for what?" she angrily sobbed while squeezing his hand.

She wanted to die right there with him. She couldn't dare abandon him like this. She wanted to still hope that he'd open his eyes; hoped that she could still save him. Looking into his face shivering, she noticed a darkening red spot on his chest. She sat up without letting go of his hand to look at this strange occurrence. Before her eyes, she saw it develop into something darker; more disturbing. With wide eyes of fear, she watched as the spot became a hole. The hole opened up to his heart that began spurting out blood as it laid there still until it shriveled from lack of fluid. Raven's trembling free hand tried desperately to serve as a tourniquet, but her hand only left a deep, blue hand print. She couldn't even believe what was going on. What did this mean? Her head unexpectedly shot up and sensed another figure emerging from the darkness.

"Excuse me! You have to help my friend!" she called out.

"Aren't you guys a little more than friends?" the figure asked under harsh laughter.

Raven's eyes widened even further. That voice! It was unmistakable; it was Slade. She shook her head slowly and looked back down at Beast Boy and saw his whole body being to shrivel. How would Slade know anything going on between them?

The realization hit her in the head like a bus filled with bricks. "No… There's no way," she stammered.

"I always knew you were a smart girl," he laughed.

She stared at Slade and then back at Beast Boy. She looked into the dark sky and stood up. Her knees shook intensely and her eyes widened even more. The wind picked up and formed a dark tornado. It tore through the ground and ran throughout the barren land. The immense, dark cloud wrapped around her and she could do nothing but scream. Scream of hurt, disbelieve, and torture.

Her body jolted upwards out of her bed with her eyes wide open and blood-shot. Looking around, she was again wrapped in Beast Boy's arms. Her door was nearly ripped off of the hinges and almost her entire bed was destroyed. Beast Boy wore an expression of being startled and concerned.

"Rae… What in the-"

Before he finished, she yanked herself out of his arms and ran to her dresser.

"Rae, you have to do something about this! You were screaming my name Rae! What's going on?"

She didn't answer and instead, kept feverishly ripping through her drawers.

"Would you at least tell me what you're doing?" he shouted.

"Help me look," was all she could say. Her hair was mangled and standing on end in some places with her eyes wide and blood-shot.

"For?" he asked confused.

"No! No! No!" she gasped, throwing drawers across the room.

"Okay, Rae, calm down and explain to me what we're looking for," he said hesitantly getting closer to her.

"He took it! Oh Azarath, he has it!" she quivered.

"Who has what?" he asked getting nervous.

She whipped her head around so quickly that a loud crack was sounded which made Beast Boy wince. "Slade has the portal to Nevermore," she said almost soundlessly.


	13. Chapter 13

Beast Boy froze with his mouth agape. Raven didn't move her eyes from his, watching very carefully for every last hint of emotion. He tried to move his jaw to create a noise, but no such thing came out. He began touring the room with just his eyes and then looked back at her and shook his head. Without saying another word, he transformed into a blood-hound and sniffed about her room, searching for the scent of strawberries and fire; the smells he distinctly remembers from Nevermore. Raven was truly on the verge of tears, but was too apprehensive to show any extreme emotion for fear that something might explode within her.

"Beast Boy, stop. It's no use," she sighed.

The green dog stopped in its tracks and looked up at her. He saw it in her face; the very thing that stabbed him the most. He saw the sadness, the defeat. Her shattered spirit. He transformed back into himself and sat on his knees, continuing to stare at her.

"What makes you think he stole it?" he asked softly.

"It all fits Beast Boy… That's why Adonis came into my room, that's why I've been having terrible dreams, that's why I've been having a rough time holding down my emotions, and that's how I'm going to help him," she finished closing her eyes.

"But… but how?" he asked in disbelief.

"I don't know, but I have to find out before he takes advantage of it."

"So that's why you cried, laughed, and belched," he said surprisingly without even a snicker at the word belch.

"Exactly. I don't know how he did it or how to stop him, but there's got to be something," she pledged determinedly.

"What about your dreams? Why are they so horrible? And why… Why do you keep screaming my name?" he blushed.

"I don't know," she answered.

"Rae…" he said trying to comfort her.

Suddenly, he saw something glisten from the corner of her eye. Without another word, he jump up and pulled her into his arms. He incased her body in his embrace and pushed her head into his chest. Raven felt her face redden. At first, she tried to fight the burning tears; they stung her eyes like salt in an opened wound. The lump in her throat was growing too large for air to be let through and the close contact made her extremely uncomfortable. Through his uniform, she could feel his heart beating rapidly underneath his rippling, muscular chest. She tried to push herself out of it, but he wouldn't budge. His arms stayed locked, even as she tugged away. She had honestly forgotten how strong he was and how much his muscles could handle. Then, she felt a tear release from its chamber and glide down her nose bridge. Beast Boy felt it soak into his arm and bit his trembling bottom lip. Once that one came loose, hundreds of others just like it poured out like a river free from a dam. Raven suddenly leaned into him and tucked her own arms under his. She gave into the wave of emotion and allowed herself to sob. It ripped through her body and made her involuntarily shake. She was beyond embarrassed, but there wasn't much that she could do to hold it in for that long. Beast Boy hugged tighter and ran his fingers through her tangled hair. He smelt the salt from her abundance of tears and heard her heart beating faster. It killed him to see her like this and even shocked him, but he knew that it had to be done. The only time he has ever seen her shed a tear was when her father was trying to use her to destroy the world, but now he's seen her full on cry twice in a matter of two days. However, he knew that she had to release before her mind could settle on any kind of solution.

"It'll be okay Raven. I'm here for you; we'll get through this together," he whispered in her ear hesitantly, not really too sure on what to say.

"No," was all she could manage to say.

He just ignored her and allowed her to continue. They were kneeled on the floor like this for about fifteen agonizing minutes. Gradually, Beast Boy felt her breaths calm down and the flow of her tears slow. He eased up on his grip and allowed her arms to fall to her sides. The sobbing ceased except for her sniffles. He unwrapped her from his arms and let his hands rest on her shoulders and her head pick up from his chest. One hand traveled to her cheek and, with his thumb, wiped away a falling tear.

"Rae, please let me help you," he requested in a gentle voice.

"You can't. Only I can solve this and there's nothing that anyone can do," she said and curled her hands around his wrists and pulled his hands off of her slowly so not to be rude.

"You're so stubborn," he sighed. "You didn't even give any of us a chance. I'm not leaving you alone," he said with a striking tone.

"Okay," Raven sighed figuring that it was best to just yes him to death than argue.

"Look Raven, I know you're going to do everything in your power to keep me and the rest of the team out of these affairs, but you have to understand that I will do everything in my power to counteract that," he warned.

Raven didn't say anything back, and wildly searched his eyes instead. The intense eye contact at first was refreshing for Beast Boy, but it quickly transformed into something more uncomfortable.

"Uh, I'm guessing you should really tell everyone else. It's already a quarter to ten; Robin let you sleep in. I kept in my room because I wanted to keep my ears open for you," he said standing up.

He held out his hand for Raven to take, but she barely even glanced at it. Slowly she got up as if in pain and glanced over to her clock. To her astonishment, it really was a quarter to ten. She couldn't remember the last time she slept so late.

"Beast Boy, you can go. I just want to be alone for a few minutes," she said with her eyes tightly shut.

"Okay," Beast Boy reluctantly whispered as he walked out of her room.

Her door made a mechanical sound to close, but the door was so far off of the tracks, that Beast Boy had to push the door with tremendous force. Raven watched as he left with sullen eyes and then collapsed onto the ground. She hugged her knees to her chest and leaned her back against her foot board which happened to be a little cocked to the side. She pushed her head into her knees and started breathing very deeply. She wanted to meditate so badly, but she knew Beast Boy would get worried.

"Damn it!" she shouted, but luckily the sound barely escaped her knees, and came out more muffled than anything else.

Her frustration was intense, but yelling and breathing were about the only stress releasing techniques that she could perform at the moment. She sighed deeply and lifted just her head. Looking around, she noticed the damage that she had done in her sleep. Her bed was nearly ripped to shreds and her blankets were twisted in every way. The door on the other hand, was not her fault and she was able to tell by the cavernous gashes shaped a lot like claws.

Raven squeezed her eyes closed and felt them twitch. He was trying so earnestly to save her and it made her feel abounding guilt. He was risking his life to save the very thing that may kill him in the end. Slade's words in her dream made her shutter. What did he mean by that, and why did he appear in her dream anyway? Yet again, what did any of her dreams mean? Did he have any control over his appearance in her dream? Raven knew Slade had at least something to do with her dreams, but she didn't know exactly what. What about her uncontrollable emotions? Surly his hand prints could be found there too, but how? And… why? She stood up from the floor and winced at pain that seemed to come from all over. Her head was throbbing and the room felt like it was spinning, so she had to grab onto the foot board to prevent herself from falling over.

Her heart suddenly pounded relentlessly when the realization suddenly befell her. She would have to tell the rest of the team. It frightened her not because she feared being in trouble, but because she knew that they'd try to help. She would have to confess to everything that she's been hiding and this will only rise how harshly her privacy barriers would have to fall as an order by the team. She clutched her head and stamped her foot merely to release some burning energy resulting from her frustration.

Raven opened her eyes slowly and released her digging hands from her palpitating head. She took one last deep breath with much effort and looked toward the door to make her departure. It had to happen sooner or later, and the more she stalled, the more time she was wasting.

Beast Boy entered the common room and saw the rest of the team carrying on with their usual day. Cyborg was analyzing something on his mechanical arm, Robin was intensely reading the newspaper, and Starfire was watching the television. Beast Boy sighed quietly and decided to join Starfire on the couch.

He walked over, trying not to draw attention to himself. He knew that not acting like his normal bubbly self would draw suspicion, so it was best to keep a low profile for now. He sat a few feet away from Starfire on the large, black couch. Silky was happily curled in her lap while Starfire was sitting with her back hunched, her elbows on her knees with her hands supporting her head which wore a facial expression of deep confusion and concern. Her head turned to the side a little to acknowledge his presence, but it took a full second for her eyes to follow because they were so glued to the screen.

"Oh hello friend Beast Boy," she greeted politely.

"Hey Star," Beast Boy said back as happily as he could.

"Do you mind explaining to me the point of this broadcasting?" she asked.

"Uh, sure. What are you watching?" Beast Boy asked turning to the screen, but immediately wished he didn't.

"I am watching the shore of which Jersey is located," she responded a little confused.

"What made you turn _this_ on?" he asked snickering.

"I do not get it! What is so interesting about this _bar_ that they speak of? Why do they insist on spending an abundance of time in pods that provide immense light to alter their tone of skin? What is a snookie? Why must they always use hurtful words? And why do they always have the sex?" Starfire's questions poured out a mile a minute.

Beast Boy felt his brain come to a complete stop, not knowing what to say. His eyes flew wide open and his head went back and forth from the screen to Starfire.

"Well, uh, ya see… These people are just… idiots," was all he could choke out without bursting into laughter.

"Oh, you mean like what Raven calls you?" she thought.

"Yeah I guess- hey!" he shouted. The laughing suddenly stopped and he gazed at the screen. His ears drooped at the sight of one of the male characters gulping back a drink and stupidly falling over.

"Yeah, that's exactly what Raven means when she calls me an idiot," he said in a lower voice, looking off to the side and crossing his arms.

"Do not worry Beast Boy. I do not believe that friend Raven thinks you are anything like an idiot," she giggled.

Beast Boy just looked over to her with a weak smile as Starfire giggled some more.

"Yo, grass stain! What made ya sleep in so late?" called Cyborg from the kitchen table while closing up a compartment within his arm.

"I was uh-" Beast Boy didn't have to bother finishing with some kind of lie because the reason just entered the common room.

Raven gloomily glided closer to them with her head down.

"Uh, rise and shine sleeping beauty," Cyborg said half joking, half concerned.

Robin's head snapped up from his paper and he shuffled it closed. "Wow Raven, you really slept in late today. Everything all right?" Robin asked with Raven in his best interest.

"I have something to tell you," she said in a hoarse voice without looking up.

Robin stood up and walked a little closer to her. Cyborg sat at the edge of his seat and Starfire gently took Silky off of her lap and twisted her body all the way around to face Raven. Beast Boy got off the couch and hesitantly walked forward, getting prepared to catch her at any given moment.

Raven picked her head up and opened her eyes. They glassed over, but luckily nothing spilled out.

"Slade has Nevermore," she said flatly. Beating around the bush wasn't going to help anyone.

"Wha- but… how?" asked Cyborg breaking the two seconds of silence between the team.

Raven's head went back down with her eyes squeezed shut.

"That's why Adonis was in your room," connected Robin.

"And that's why my emotions haven't been under the best control," she added.

"Raven, are you certain?" Starfire tried to clarify.

Raven nodded. "But that's not all," Raven admitted.

"What do you mean?" asked Robin.

"I've been having these nightmares- I know it sounds ridiculous- and it's like Slade is causing me to have these horrible nightmares. Almost like he intends for me to wake up every morning with my room half destroyed and in a cold sweat. I'm not sure if he's trying to scare me or wear me down… I just don't know," she confessed looking nervously from one member to the other. She bore her teeth in terror and her eyes were wide with worry and with them, she deliberately stared at Beast Boy who looked just as broken as she.

"How long have these nightmares been happening?" asked Robin skeptically.

"Since the night Adonis came," she clarified.

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" asked Robin a little angrily.

"I- I thought it was just something I could handle," Raven responded with her head slightly falling on her neck.

"Look, it's… it's okay. The important thing is, you told us now and Slade must be stopped," Robin said slamming his fist into his palm with that burning passion in his face.

"_I_ need to be stopped," Raven mumbled.

"Huh?" Robin asked confused.

"I'm the one who is going to cause this world destruction," she said putting her hand on her chest.

"Raven, you can do anything you set your mind to. You are capable of controlling-"

"Robin, I have no control! You have no idea what I'm actually capable of, but Slade does because he worked so closely with my father. He's the one who has the potential of controlling my mind far beyond what I can do. With the right attitude Robin, I can become nothing but a violent, merciless, killing machine! It's in my blood; it's always racing in the back of my mind. I'm able to control it as much as I have been for the last seventeen years, but it's always there… Always has been and always will," she finished with a slight crack in her voice.

Beast Boy just noticed how throughout the entire conversation, he managed to inch himself only a small four feet away from Raven.

"Raven, look at me," Robin said with emphasis on every word. "You got through it the last time something like this happened and you can do it again," he nearly yelled.

"That's because we had half a miracle on our side. Those odds are not likely to happen again," she said emotionlessly.

"You don't even know if he's capable of anything yet," he pointed out.

"Look at me Robin! Look at what's been going on! He's already started," she snapped back.

"Why won't you let us help you? Why are you refusing even a little bit of help?" he asked a little offended.

"I- I… I don't want you getting hurt. You can bet that one of Slade's first tasks for me will be to kill you. _All_ of you and he'll make sure that he gets every last scream out of you. I'll be damned if I let you guys risk that," she said feeling cold just from the thought.

Robin thought a minute before speaking, "I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that we'll be damned if you make us take the risk of losing you. You're so obsessed with this thought that you're something terrible and mindless. Raven, you're a titan, a friend, a _hero_. You're an inspiration and all you see is what could go wrong. You have done so much good for the city and the _friends_ that you save daily. You can get through anything. It didn't take a miracle the last time; it took hope and determination. That's all it took. If we can all find both and use it together, this will just be another epic battle that you will walk away from with a stronger gripe on who you are, and another reason for you to believe in this team and yourself."

Raven sighed from lack of anything else to say. She knew he had a point, but it still didn't make it okay for them to risk their lives for her.

"Okay," she reluctantly said looking up at Robin with her drained eyes.

Robin looked at her for a moment and began to internalize how dilapidated she must be. It's no wonder she is losing hope. Robin too sighs and softens his expression with a weak smile and relaxed eyebrows. He walked a little closer to her because he finally realized that they were positioned rather far apart for two people who should be having a conversation; especially one as personal as this.

"We will get through this… again," he reassured her while wanting to use a gentle touch on the shoulder to comfort her, but figured that it was best to refrain from human contact for a while.

"So, how do we begin?" asked Cyborg with a grin on his face, standing up to get closer to Raven.

"We are most excited to perform whatever task needs doing," chimed in Starfire who floated over the back of the couch to join the rest with a huge smile.

"We've got you no matter what Rae," said Beast Boy as he put his arm around Raven's shoulders.

Robin winced before his arm even made full contact; he had pretty much the idea of what was coming. Before Raven even realized his arm made contact with her skin, the two of them shot to opposite ends of the room. They both flew back as if their contact produced an electric shock at an incredibly high voltage. Both of them gave out a startled yelp as their feet left the ground and their bodies hit the nearest object.

Beast Boy flew right into Robin's stereo and fell to the floor with a thud and an earsplitting crash. Raven hit one of the kitchen cabinets and collided with the ground with a scream. On one side of the room was scattered with various CDs while the other side was invaded by broken ceramic that were once plates and cups. The team remained silent for a moment, not sure what to think. Beast Boy stared at Raven in awe and slowly got up while clutching his throbbing back. Once his feet were parallel to the floor and his knees unlocked, he ran over to help Raven. Raven on the other side of the room scanned with wide eyes the damage that she caused in the common room. Her vigilance went from the team to the mess back and forth at least a dozen times. Beast Boy approached her in worry for not only her safety, but to not set her off again.

"Dude, like, what was that?" he asked in astonishment.

The rest of the team stood silent as they watched the procedure taken by both of them very carefully.

"What caused it?" he asked again, trying to get at least a word out of Raven.

"C'mon, I'll help you up," he suggested, extending his hand for her to grasp for support.

Raven ignored his hand and stood up with little effort. Beast Boy was able to already see a small bruise forming on her arm, but if she were in any true pain, she surely didn't show it. Her eyes remained straight ahead; neither on anyone nor any point in particular, just staring. Her eyes looked glazed now, much like she does when trying to be perceived as emotionless or trying to bury them into the back of her mind where not even she could reach unless in Nevermore.

"I have to meditate," was all she said before walking right out of the door, leaving a cold atmosphere.

Beast Boy just stood there dumbfounded with drooped ears as he watched her walk out of help's grasp once again and into her own helpless world of despondence.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys! I just want to thank you again for all of your encouraging reviews. Many of them helped me improve my writing, many others made me laugh, but most of all, they cheered me on! I'm so glad that I have the opportunity to write for such kind people :). I'm also really sorry that my updates aren't very frequent, but I've been working on them as quickly as I can while still putting in all of my effort to make this a likeable fanfiction. Anyway… here's chapter 14, enjoy!**

It's been four days since Raven announced to the team that Slade has Nevermore. For the past heartrending four days, Raven didn't come out of her room very often. She emerged to quickly make some tea every once in a while, but she did it so soundlessly and hastily that anyone in the common room barely realized her attendance until she darted back to her room. She also came out to fight crime, but for the past four days, it was so infrequent. Slade was apparently lying low for now along with all of Jump City's usual criminals; however, there were still a couple of robberies here and there, but clearly nothing major. This of course meant that these battles were over within five minutes, so Raven would rush back and lock herself in solitary confinement yet again.

Beast Boy of course got to see her every morning, but not under pleasant circumstances. Every morning, he awoke to her blood curdling screeches. Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire were not able to hear them because they were so faint from traveling through the dense walls, but Beast Boy's ears were able to pick up the slightest of sounds and Raven's screams were blood freezing to him. Every morning went the same; she would wake up form a nightmare and by the time her eyes opened, Beast Boy was already in her room with his arms around her trembling body. She would embarrassingly stiffen when consciousness took a grip and slide out of his grasp as if avoiding a wild and unpredictable dingo. She would blurt out that she was perfectly fine and that she needed time alone. It always left Beast Boy feeling discouraged, but he knew that all she needed was time.

Her meditations were becoming much more frequent because she was trying to find a way to penetrate into Nevermore and properly speak with her emotions without the mirror and without giving away her presence to Slade who she supposed was spending a lot of time in there. How he managed to get in and out without killing himself was still a mystery, but the best theory she had was that he had much helpful information from her father. Every day was just the same. She planted herself in the center of a salt ring inside of a dimly lit room via candles, and surrounded by crowded walls of stacked books. She spent hours searching through their ancient pages, trying to find new ways to open up her mind. She had already gotten through nearly half of them, and none seemed to work, so at this point, it was a concept of trial and error without being too picky. She attempted spell after spell, but nothing in her books could possibly relate to her unique problem. Even to other worlds and distant times, her task was one unlike any other.

What was the most terrifying to her was not the lack of answers, but the lack of information pertaining to Slade's whole plan. She had no idea when everything would just cave in. Will she wake up one morning in the middle of nowhere? Will Slade come to the tower with his army of criminals in the middle of the night? Is Slade targeting one of her friends to get to a weak spot in her? Is he just waiting for her to descend into madness? Will her mind one day just snap and fall under his control? The morbid options were making her already fatigued head spin. She would chase down the urge to sleep by slapping herself. At first, she programmed her alarm clock to go off every ten minutes to make sure she wasn't asleep, but she accidently broke it with her magic after losing her patience in a fit of anger. That was another reason she decided to stay in her room; there were less people to hurt in the small space of her room. Because of her overreacting emotions, she had to be extremely cautions to make sure she didn't blow up the place.

Raven was busily reading one of her large novels with yellow pages so intensely, that her eyes ached from reading the abundance of material in such little time. The time was around two o'clock in the afternoon, but she would only be able to tell because of the position of her new clock's hands. Her curtains were pulled in tightly, blocking out most of the light and outside world altogether. Suddenly, as if being snapped out of a trance, Raven nearly jumped out of her skin. The tower's warning alarm began to sound which immediately made Raven's limbs become limp in a quick burst of terror. Every time the alarm went off, she pictured Slade with his army of escaped criminals outside of the tower, waiting for her to come with his sinister eyes. She shivered and regained some blood back in her legs so that she could make her way to the common room.

Raven swiftly lifted her hood and tugged it to her face as she made her way out of her door in a full sprint. When she arrived, only Beast Boy and Starfire were standing in the center, vigilantly twisting their heads around to check for their leader or an intruder.

"Rae, what's going on?" Beast Boy shouted over the alarm.

"Any sign of friend Cyborg or Robin?" added Starfire.

Raven shook her head and ran to the window. With her face nearly pressed up against the glass, she began scanning the surrounding area for Slade. Her eyes darted from side to side as she saw white caps breaking in the ocean below them when suddenly, something caught her eye. She quickly caught of glimpse of Cyborg wresting someone to the ground.

Without hesitation, she turned her head around to Starfire and Beast Boy and announced, "They're outside." She grabbed the two of them and phased through the many floors of the tower and landed on the bottom floor where the three of them sprinted out of the large doors. When they made it outside, Robin's angry shouting flooded the air in rumbling force. Following the loud, yet distinct voice, they flew over rocks and splashed through salty puddles to find someone trapped in Cyborg's head lock and Robin screaming into his face.

Raven came to a halt and gasped. Although she was relieved it was not Slade, she still froze with wariness at the sight of the struggling teenager in Cyborg's arms. It was Victor.

Beast Boy stopped right next to Raven and followed her gaze. As soon as his brain registered that it was Victor, he felt a growl erupt from deep within his chest. His eyes narrowed and his fists clenched as he moved in closer to join Cyborg and Robin. Raven noticed this and followed close behind.

"Why are you here?" shouted Robin not noticing Beast Boy, Raven or Starfire until he heard Beast Boy growl. Cyborg just noticed them too as well as Victor. The three of them looked at the rest of the team; Beast Boy looking like he's ready to kill, Raven hesitantly following, and Starfire flying above. Starfire landed next to Robin and cautiously hugged his arm gently, looking curiously at Victor who was struggling to catch his breath.

"What has happened?" Starfire asked still looking at Victor.

"We found this punk trying to sneak into the tower," forced out Cyborg with the little breath he had sparred from trying to keep a strong grip on Victor.

"Release him," ordered Robin figuring he had nowhere to run anyway.

Cyborg smirked and relaxed his arms so that Victor fell on his knees with immense force. He continued to snicker as Victor held his chest and gasped for sweet air.

"Now," said Robin looking down at him. "Why are you here?"

"I… I wanted to… to… help you guys," he got out while still trying to catch his breath.

Robin kicked him and Victor let out a yelp.

"Why are you _really_ here?" probed Robin furiously.

"No man… you… you don't under… understand. There're _crazy_! Slade's crazy! I… came… came here for… protection," he choked out while collecting shameful tears in his eyes.

"Why should we protect you?" sneered Robin growing more heated.

"Because I can… help you," he said finally managing to catch up to his breath.

"How stupid do you think we are?" shouted Cyborg offended.

"Raven," Victor said, ignoring Cyborg. "C'mon Raven, you won't let them hurt me right?" he enticed.

Before anyone could hold him back, Beast Boy ran to him, grabbed him by the neck, and slammed his body against a rock in one quick move. Victor flailed his arms and legs, trying to break free while Beast Boy panted heavily and continued to hold his tight grip. His eyes were smoldering and his growls, although faint, were terrifying. He began to feel claws involuntarily growing out if his hands and stifled a snarl ready to launch out of his throat. The Beast was getting ready to break through. He felt like he was going to kill him and anyone else who got in his way.

"Beast Boy! Stop!" shouted Robin in shock.

"Man, cool it!" ordered Cyborg.

"Beast Boy, you mustn't!" pleaded Starfire.

Raven stared at the display in disbelief with wide eyes and shaking hands.

"Leave. Her. Alone." Beast Boy said through clenched teeth and gave him another slam onto the rock.

Victor screeched in pain when the back of his head made a forceful encounter with the rock. He began to feel dizzy, and truly wasn't sure if it was a result of his head getting hit or the lack of air to his already twisting brain.

"Ra…ven… Mel… Melvin," he tried to say.

It took a second for Raven to translate the utterance coming from his cracking voice.

"Wait!" she shouted as she ran over to Beast Boy and tried to tug him away. When that didn't work, she collected black energy around his waist and yanked him away with his arms thrashing as he tried to grab on again. She gently placed Beast Boy in front of Cyborg who held his shoulders and tried to calm him down.

Victor landed on his feet, but his knees buckled and he was sent to the floor once again. All over again, he had to catch his breath. He rolled over and sat down with his legs crossed and his hands rubbing his reddening neck while his chest relentlessly bobbed up and down with great effort to breathe.

"What about Melvin?" asked Raven wasting no time at all.

"Melvin… and… and Timmy, and… Teether," he wheezed.

"What about them?" Raven demanded as she grabbed his shirt and put his face inches from hers.

"He's… got… them," he tried to say while still gasping for breath.

"Look, I have no time for your games! Tell me where they are or I will be glad to send you to another dimension," she warned filled with worry and desperation.

He stayed silent.

"Tell me!" she screamed, shaking him.

"First you have… to promise to… protect… me," he trembled, losing his breath quicker than he could gain it back now that fear took a more prominent stand and Raven felt it.

"It could be a trap," warned Robin in disgust.

"They're _children_ for crying out loud," she projected from the back of her throat in a dangerous tone, ignoring Robin as one of the rocks on the side combusted from Raven's uncontrolled anger.

"Y-y-y-you don't understand... Slade'll _kill_ me if he… f-f-finds out I told you," he cried.

Raven whipped her head around at her team. Starfire nearly had tears in her eyes with one arm wrapped around Robin's and the other with her nails in her mouth. Beast Boy was tensely looking at her, but he seemed much calmer than before. Cyborg had an expression of distrust and anger upon his face while Robin wore one similar. She gave them a look as if it were her own life was in jeopardy; begging them to do something.

After nearly a minute, Robin let out a sigh and rubbed his temple, "Cyborg, call Bumble Bee and tell her that she or one of the other teammates has to come over here and pick this trash up. They'll protect you if you tell us and until there's a safe jail to put you in. If you're lying to us, Slade will be the least of your problems," he spat.

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much!" he exclaimed in his pathetic airy tone.

"Don't thank us yet," said Beast Boy through clenched teeth.

Victor shivered at the sound of his voice.

"Not so tough anymore big guy, are ya?" snickered Cyborg remembering his extravagant hubris and how funny it is now to see him whimpering at their mercy.

"You got what you want, now tell me where they are! Don't lie because I know when you're lying," ordered Raven with one fist clutching his shirt by his neck and the other in the air, glowing with black energy.

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" he hastily shouted with a shaking voice. Not only was he horrified, but his pride was dearly hurting as well.

"Well…" she pushed with detestation.

"Hold on Bee," said Cyborg trying to listen to what he had to say.

"Well, he had Cinderblock, Control Freak, Julie, and Billy Numerous attack their monk sanctuary. I'm not sure if any of 'em survived, but I know the battle was pretty bad. Anyway, so they took Melvin, Timmy, and Teether back to the hideout and Slade sent all of 'em to hide the three kids. All I know is that they're hiding somewhere in the woods about three hours north of Jump City. That's all I know! I swear!" he finished.

Raven scrunched her eyes in an attempt not to cry. Not having a lot of control over her emotions meant that she was prone to crying a little more.

"Are they hurt?" was all she could ask.

"No, Slade didn't want to hurt them yet without… without you being there to see it," he unwillingly confessed.

Raven's heart slipped into her stomach. Now these innocent children are being tormented at her expense. What's worse is that she wasn't even sure where they exactly were. How in the world could she save them while aimlessly searching the general area of which Victor mentioned? It would be nearly impossible to find them. She felt her bottom lip tremble and then felt another rock shower her in dust. Suddenly, she realized one very important detail that just might save them.

"What about Bobby?" her eyes shot open with her heart racing.

"Bobby? Who's Bobby?" asked Victor confused.

"Nobody saw Bobby?"

"He was never even mentioned… Or she… Whatever Bobby is."

"There was no mention of a giant teddy bear?"

"No…?" Victor asked getting more confused.

Raven jumped up and made everyone else jump back from surprise. "I have to go to the monks' castle. Bobby may still be there," she announced with slight hope.

"What are you talking about?" wondered Robin.

"Bobby may be able to tell me where Melvin is. Melvin probably told him to hide and that's why nobody saw him. I went a couple of days of never seeing Bobby. He could be waiting for me back at the battle scene. It could be their only hope. I have to go," she explained getting ready to leave.

"You mean _we_ have to go," said Beast Boy stepping forward.

"No, I can't let you guys."

"What do you mean by _that_?" asked Cyborg with a smile.

"They're right Raven. We're going with you," encouraged Robin.

"We shall do the kicking of the butt together," excitedly said Starfire.

"After all, there hasn't been much activity here anyway and if things get bad, the Titans East can call us back over here," reassured Robin to deny Raven of any excuse to not let them come.

Raven exhaled heavily. "Thank you," she finally said with a slight smile.

Beast Boy looked at her and smiled too. It was the first time in half a week that he's seen her come close to a smile.

"We've just gotta wait for Titans East to come pick him up. Bee is sendin' Aqualad over," informed Cyborg.

"In the meantime, we will go inside and prepare for our departure," suggested Starfire.

"And you," said Robin to Victor, "can wait for Aqualad in the holding room."

Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven went up to their rooms to get whatever they needed to leave for a couple of days. Cyborg dragged Victor into the holding room on the third floor. The room was circular with electric sliding doors that could only be opened and closed with a specific password. Inside there was a bench, a toilet, and a sink along with a camera with an alarm system if anyone breaks out, and a speaker used for an intercom system within the cell. Cyborg typed in the code and tossed him in. He closed the door again and got on the speaker.

"Don't try to get out because you ain't gonna be able to," he warned. "Aqualad will be her soon."

With that, Cyborg went up to his room and joined the others in getting their things.

Raven sat on her bed quickly getting in any last minute reading before she had to leave. She skimmed a couple of pages and doggie-eared three or four pages so that she'd go back to them when she got home. She was honestly a little downtrodden from what just happened. Because of her, three brilliant children were now paying the price in East Jesus Nowhere. She blinked away a couple of tears, but couldn't chase away the self loathing. How in the world did he even know about the three of them and about her deep care for them? What else could he possibly know and who else is on his list?

All of a sudden, she heard a soft knock on her door.

"Yes?" she asked looking at her door.

"It's BB, open up!" he said cheerfully.

Blushing, she pulled up her hood, walked to the door, and opened it.

"C'mon Rae, I barely saw your face all week! The least you could do is take your hood down," he teasingly said.

Raven rolled her eyes and took it down.

"What do you want?" she asked trying to sound as disconnected as she possibly could.

"Well, based on the past couple of days and especially after today, I just thought I'd ask how you're doing," he smiled.

"I'm fine I guess. Right now it's not about me; it's about Melvin, Timmy, and Teether. They're suffering because of me," she said sadly.

"No, they're suffering because of a psycho path, who seriously needs a better hobby, named Slade. Only evil people make innocent people suffer and it's people like you who _stop_ those evil people and _save_ the innocent people," he comforted her.

Raven couldn't believe her ears. It was such a simple statement, but it somehow raised her spirits.

"Uhm, thanks Beast Boy," she said quietly while trying to stop her smile.

"Oh yeah, and don't be afraid to smile," he raised his fingers to the corners of her mouth and stretched them into a smile.

Raven giggled and pushed his hands down when suddenly, she heard her drawer fly out of her dresser and into the opposite wall. Her smile disappeared and she sighed a sigh of defeat while closing her eyes as a reaction to the stress.

"Still having trouble with that huh?"

Raven just nodded with her hands over her face.  
Beast Boy pulled down her hands and said, "Look, it'll all be okay. We can figure this one out," he tried.

"Hopefully," was all she could say.

They stared into each other's eyes for a little longer than what's comfortable, but neither could pull their eyes away.

Raven was the first to look away trying to stop the heat from flooding her face. She cleared her throat and asked, "What about you? You really seemed to blow up today. Are you alright?"

"Oh yeah, ya know, I don't know what that was about. I guess he just hits a bad spot in me; like sets off a trigger or something," he said matter-of-fact like and thought best not to tell her about feeling the Beast almost come out of him. She was under enough stress.

"You've really got to control yourself around him. We thought you were going to kill him."

"I would have too," he growled.

"What? Why?"

"No one should talk to you like that Rae! I had to get back at him for all of the things that he said and did to you," he said a little shocked that she didn't agree.

"Beast Boy, he's not going to hurt me. I can handle myself," she said crossing her arms.

"I know, it's just- Ugghh, I don't like that he keeps hitting on you like that!" he said immediately wishing he could take it back.

"He's just a jerk! It doesn't mean anything! What does it mean to you anyway? He hits on lots of people," she said getting a little embarrassed.

"I don't see him hitting on Starfire like he hits on you! I just- I don't know- pisses me off when he hits on you like that," he finished a little meekly.

Raven just rolled her eyes and thought to just let it go. They probably won't see him again anyway. It became silent for a full five seconds between them.

"Well, whatever. I didn't come here to fight with you. I just really really missed you, that's all," he grinned with all of his teeth showing including his fang which Raven had to admit was kind of… cute?

"Oh, you did?" she asked blushing a little.

"Yeah, a lot," he whispered while continuing to grin.

"Yo, Grass Stain! Where'd you put my extra robotic eye lense?" shouted Cyborg down the hall.

Beast Boy's mouth dropped open and his face grew red.

"I, uh, think I'm being called," said Beast Boy rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'll see you later Beast Boy," she smiled.

"See ya Rae," he said as he ran towards his vexed friend standing at the end of the hall, tapping his foot impatiently.

Raven giggled as she watched him run off and then went back into her room to finish up her quick reading and pack a little.

By the time all of them were done getting ready to leave, Aqualad already made it to the tower. Robin gladly handed over Victor and Aqualad, coming prepared for a human who can't breathe underwater, seated the two of them inside of a submarine that Bee recently constructed.

"Thanks Aqualad. Give the rest of the team our hello and good wishes," said Robin with a smile.

"Not a problem and we'll be sure to check in on Jump City whenever we can. We've got both your city and this loser under control," Aqualad kindly reassured them.

"I couldn't imagine anything less from you guys! Thanks again."

Aqualad finally left the five of them with nothing left to do but get on their way.

"You tell us where to go first Raven," decided Robin as all of them strapped their seatbelts in the T-car, driven by Cyborg.

"To the monks. If Bobby is anywhere, I bet he's there waiting for me," she directed.

Cyborg nodded and began to drive to rescue the children that Raven proudly called "her children".


	15. Chapter 15

It has been almost a full day since they began driving. The team drove past the limits of the city and began venturing through places that not many people have even touched upon. It was as peaceful as it was eerie to look out into the dense formations of trees lining the one dirt road that seemed to go on and on for miles.

"Dude, two words for you: so creepy," whispered Beast Boy sitting between Starfire and Raven in the back of the T-car.

"Man, I had no idea how long this was gonna take. Why didn't you say somethin' to me?" asked Cyborg trying to hide his annoyance, but couldn't help but wonder. Both Robin and Raven knew where this place was and neither of them bothered to tell him how long it was going to take and what conditions he would have to drive through.

"I just didn't want you to overreact," confessed Robin. "I'm sorry, next time I'll give you more information."

"It's okay. I'm just glad I remembered to bring a lot of extra power and another full set of tires with me," Cyborg replied softly.

"59 bottles of beer on the wall! 59 bottles of beer! You take one down, pass it around, 58 bottles of beer on the wall!" Beast Boy sang at the top of his lungs for the past fifteen minutes, trying to get the team to loosen up and sing along.

"Beast Boy, may we stop now please?" asked Starfire politely who at first was interested in the traditional earthly road trip songs, but after 70, she found the entire song to be very irritating.

Raven had her hands over her ears, trying to block out the noise while Cyborg felt his human eye twitching and clutched onto the steering wheel as tightly as he could.

Robin let out a long and deep sigh, "C'mon Beast Boy, cut it out already!"

"No way dudes! I almost half way done!" he complained. "58 bottles of beer on the wall, 58 bottles of beer! You take one down, pass it around, 57 bottles of beer on the wall!" he continued.

"Ahhhh, I can't take it anymore!" screeched Cyborg who twisted the volume knob on his stereo so that his own music was full blast and shaking the entire car.

"Oh, what a great idea Cyborg! This is definitely less annoying than Beast Boy!" yelled Raven sarcastically over the rumbling music with her ears still tightly enclosed by her hands.

Robin leaned over and twisted the knob down to a lower, more comfortable, volume.

"Alright team, that's enough!" Robin shouted not because he was angry, but because he hadn't gained back all of his hearing.

"Must we all be so annoying the whole way there?" asked Raven who still had a loud ringing in her ears.

"Oh boy! Is it my turn to contribute to the road trip sing along?"asked Starfire cheerfully clapping her hands together.

"Uhm Star, I think-" Robin looked back at his sweet girlfriend who suddenly cut him off.

"I shall contribute a traditional Tameranian nursery rhyme that is quite- how you say- hysterical! To save time, I will only sing 450 verses out of the 628 original verses!"

All of the other Titan's faces turned white at the thought of another endless Tameranian song. Now that they were all stuck in closed quarters, there was nowhere to retreat. As she loudly sucked in a lung-filled amount of air, Raven unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped onto the center console between Robin and Cyborg, and accidently kicked the two of them in the arm in her rushed stunt. Her hand shot to the volume and she blasted it as loud as it could go to cut out Starfire's singing.

No matter how loud Starfire tried to sing, for the most part she was still drowned out by the deafening music coming from Cyborg's car's speakers. The rest of the team, although still dreading the music from the stereo, breathed out a sigh of relief that they could barely hear Starfire. Beast Boy was laughing so hard in the back seat that his legs began involuntarily kicking.

After about a full minute, Robin lowered the music in the car and turned to Starfire. "Oh Star, that was fantastic! What a great song! We'd love to hear the rest of it, but then what would we listen to later on? We don't want to hear all of it at once. It was… uh… too beautiful to be wasted in one night," Robin prayed that she'd buy it.

"Did you guys really, really like it?" she squealed with her eyes as bright as the stars in the sky.

"Sure did! Right guys?" Robin said through clenched teeth and elbowed Cyborg.

"Yeah, yeah Starfire, that was way cool!" said Cyborg with false adoration.

"It was great Star!" Beast Boy blurted out between laughter.

"Wonderful," said Raven with barley any emotion except for relief.

"Splendid! Then you will be thrilled to hear this next Tameranian song!" exclaimed Starfire with delight.

"No!" all of the Titans yelled at the same time.

"We don't want you to waste your angelic voice," said Raven trying to find an excuse.

"Okay, if you say so," said Starfire both flattered and a little disappointed that she couldn't sing anymore.

"Okay, now we can all settle down and have a nice, calm ride to- Oh shiiiiiit!" screeched Cyborg as he slammed on his breaks and tried to swerve out of the way of a deer that came running out of the forest.

The car swerved with an earsplitting scream coming from the tires that were trying desperately to stop. The car just missed a tall oak tree and stopped less than a foot in front of the deer. The team inside ceased their screaming and held their breaths for a second and let it out in a deep sigh that was in unison between all of them. No one was hurt, the deer wasn't killed, and yes, even the T-car was unharmed.

"Is everyone all right?" asked Cyborg trying to see straight.

"I'm good," said Robin.

"Let's do that again!" cheered Beast Boy.

"I'm fine," said Raven clutching her head.

"Awww, look at this adorable critter!" squealed Starfire opening up the car door to get a better look at the doe while not being phased by the almost tragedy one bit. Her high energy and enthusiastic optimism was quite envious.

"No, Star. Stay in the car! These are wild animals; they're unpredictable," warned Robin protectively, but his statement fell upon deaf ears as she nearly hopped out of the car.

"Relax dude! She'll be fine. If there's anyone who knows about wild animals, it's _me_," reassured Beast Boy while playfully wiggling his eyebrows at Raven who just rolled her eyes in response.

With that, Beast Boy got out of the car too and morphed into a green deer.

"You are most cute!" complemented Starfire as she petted the surprisingly gentle deer. It allowed Starfire's hand to comb gracefully through its fur.

Beast Boy walked over quietly so not to startle the sweet animal. The doe looked surprised to see a green deer, so she hesitantly walked over to fulfill her natural curiosity. She sniffed him while Beast Boy remained very still. Eventually, the doe accepted the scent and went back to Starfire who had a grin stretched from one ear to the other.

Raven, Cyborg, and Robin quietly got out of the car as well to investigate the amazing scene. This wild animal seemed so calm with Starfire; it was so fascinating. All three of them calmly creeped up towards the animal to get a closer look at the phenomena. Starfire giggled as the deer released air from its black nose and tickled her. Robin kneeled right next to Starfire and put his arm around her shoulder. He held out his gloved hand to the deer to try to gain the same response.

"Hey little guy," he said in a higher voice than his usual.

The doe suddenly raised her ears and took in a sharp breath. It was a warning sign that any animal expert would have realized. Beast Boy immediately morphed back.

"Dude! Watch-" before Beast Boy could finish his caution, the deer raised its front legs and kicked Robin in the stomach and ran off.

"Oooph!" Robin shouted in pain as he fell to the ground with the wind knocked out of him.

"Oh Robin!" cried Starfire who caught his head before it hit the dirt.

"Yo, are you okay?" asked Cyborg as he ran over to Robin.

"Robin, are you hurt?" asked Raven worriedly as she ran to his side.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be fine," said Robin in a hoarse voice.

"Dude! I saw that whole thing! Are you… alright?" asked Beast Boy sweating from trying to hold in his laughter.

"How do you find this funny?" asked Raven looking up at him in an exasperated tone.

Beast Boy and Cyborg looked at each other and their cheeks grew red from trying not to laugh. Raven rolled her eyes at the two of them. All of a sudden, it became too much for them to hold in and they were laughing hysterically, slapping each other in the back and clutching their aching ribs. Their laughter echoed through the forest like cheery bells. After a little, even Raven stood covering her mouth, trying to hold it in.

"C'mon Rae, laugh! That was hysterical!"

She let out a little giggle, but that was all she allowed herself to do, however it sure was enough to light up Beast Boy's world. Even Starfire began to laugh at the ridiculous situation.

"I am so sorry for taking part in the laughter at your expense boyfriend Robin, but it was so very funny!" she said still holding his hands.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Laugh while you can," said Robin smiling just a little.

Starfire lifted him to his feet and helped him back into the T-car while the rest of the team piled in and readied themselves for the rest of the trip.

The road continued on this strange pathway that winded through the forest. Every tree that passed by in dark shadows with such ease, made the entire team incredibly sleepy. Starfire was one of the first titans to drift off to sleep. She allowed her big eyes to flutter and then finally close with comfort. Her head rested peacefully on the seat belt that came across her chest, but hung almost like a basket that created a resting place below her head.

Robin looked behind him and saw Starfire resting. She was so beautiful even if she did have a bit of drool falling down her cheek. Robin chuckled to himself and twisted back around, but clutched his abdomen in pain from the deer's kick. He felt a bruise forming, but realized that he was very lucky the forceful kick got him in the stomach and not somewhere more vulnerable like his head or neck area. He's dealt with bruises before; ones that were much worse and under more difficult circumstances. He leaned his head on the cold glass of the window and fought off sleep as long as he could, but with nothing to keep his mind and body occupied, his eyes became too heavy to keep lifted.

Beast Boy was tucked in the middle of Starfire and Raven. He looked from side to side and realized that Starfire was sleeping, but Raven was still wide awake. He wanted to watch Raven go to sleep or at least make sure that she would eventually fall asleep. He knew that she'd try her hardest to stay away so that she wouldn't go into a fit of night terrors and become embarrassed in front of the team. He leaned back and crossed his arms while staring out of the front windshield. He yawned quietly and felt his eyes begin to droop and his head start to fall. _I won't fall asleep_, he kept saying to himself. _No! Stay awake; don't fall asleep. Don't fall asleep. Don'tfallasleep. Don'tfallasleep. Don't fall…_

Cyborg yawned loudly and immediately plugged in his charger so that he could stay up and drive. After the near death experience with the deer, he reminded himself that he had to stay cautious and alert. He couldn't risk the tough tug that fatigue usually had on him; he needed to stay awake. He leaned his head in his palm that rested on the door. He looked around him and saw most of the team already snoring away. He decided to open his window just a little to let some rushing air in to help him stay attentive.

Of course, he wasn't the only one that had to push away the desire to sleep. Beast Boy was right because Raven was desperately trying to force her eyes wide open. She watched as they traveled further into the woods, and tried to keep her mind focused on how she was going to find Bobby. He could be anywhere, but she was hoping that she knew exactly where to start. She shook her head every so often to keep the blood flowing to her brain in sufficient amounts to keep it running in a conscious state.

Out of nowhere, she felt something heavy fall upon her left shoulder. She knew the scent right away to be Beast Boys. She turned her head and saw the changeling with his sleeping head propped up on her shoulder. Her fist instinct was to blush and push it off gently, but instead, she let his head perch itself on her shoulder and felt a warm smile grow on her lips. It was nice to support him even in his sleep. She let out a single soft giggle and turned her head back to the window, but instead of looking out of it, she searched for the faint reflection of him peacefully sleeping on her shoulder. She felt the serenity radiating off of him and it felt appealing to her. It seems like it's been forever since she's felt the wonder of tranquility and here it was, resting right on her shoulder. She allowed her own breathing pattern to match his and watched carefully as his lungs filled and deflated from within his rib cage. She studied it open and close and listened to his soft breath come in and out in the form of warn air upon her arm as if she were some kind of guardian watching over and making sure that his body still had life pulsing through its veins. It was extremely soothing; like some kind of lullaby.

Suddenly, she heard a snicker and looked up. There was Cyborg staring at the pair of them from the rearview mirror. Raven felt the heat on her cheeks explode like an erupted volcano. She attempted to ignore his teasing and continue to stare at the very little reflection she had in the car's window. The sight made her think sweetly and she too, began to gradually slip into unconsciousness where her subconscious had full reign.

**Okay, so I know that this chapter wasn't very significant, but I thought that it would be nice to have some kind of comic relief after so many heavy chapters XD. I just thought I should shine a little light in the darkness that I've been creating in the plot. If you're disappointed in the lack of depth and depressing atmosphere, don't worry, there is still plenty to come! I hope it wasn't too obnoxious; my goal here was just to write something a little more cheerful and to reinforce the fact that they are still just fun-loving young adults. I hope you guys enjoyed it :). **


	16. Chapter 16

She looked around frantically, her hair sticking to her forehead in sweat, yet her spine received shiver upon shiver that ripped through her body so fiercely that it made her legs wobble. No time to worry about that now; she had to focus. The hallway looked almost endless and kept leading directly straight without any corners to turn down. Just one rigid corridor that was dimly lit by single light bulbs that swung lazily above the light green carpet that thickly covered the floor ran before her. They created moving shadows that often played stressful tricks on her eyes which evidently made her lob orbs of black energy at the deceiving, but empty space.

Raven ran to the next yellow door and opened it widely. How many doors alike has she opened? Again, there was nothing in it except for white walls and a white tiled floor. Slamming it shut, she ran to the door directly across, but again the room was empty. She turned her head to an exact replica of the other door that was present adjacently to it and ran for it. She opened it up, and there was nothing inside. Her body whipped around and she saw another door that looked just like the others, so she ran for it and pushed it open. Nothing again.

"Bobby!" she screamed into the next empty room.

"Melvin!" she called as she opened the next door.

"Timmy!" she screeched when she entered the room right next door.

"Teether!" she cried as it echoed off of the white walls of the next room.

How long has she been here? Minutes? Hours? _Days?_

Her nerves were getting the best of her as she started ripping the purple hair from her head. The whites of her eyes were devoured by the bulging blood vessels and her forehead was glistening with sweat while her hands shook relentlessly. Door after door, after door she opened and registered the same picture. There was no one there; not the children -_her_ children- or anyone to help her. How in the world was she supposed to save Melvin, Timmy, and Teether now? Bobby was nowhere to be found and she honestly didn't even know where she was at the moment, or anyone else for that matter.

She fell to the floor in frustration. This was fruitless. The more she traveled down the hallway, the longer it stretched. It almost felt like she wasn't even moving or making any progress. On her knees, she twisted her body to look around again, but saw nothing. Her breathing became so labored that she had to hold herself up.

Suddenly, she let out a scream of anger that could send chills down any living creature's spine. It wasn't any specific word in any kind of language, just a long anguished note that rang throughout the hallway or even the world. Her eyes glowed a piercing white and all of the doors flew open at the same time in a gust of brutal wind. The remarkable force created a booming, collective sound that burst into an eerie harmony with Raven's troubled scream. The results lay before her; there was never anyone here in the first place. She was all alone with no control over how to get out or anyone to save.

"Raven! Relax, we're all right here," Robin called gently to Raven.

At first, Raven heard a voice very distant from her, but eventually, she recognized it to be her friend's caring, but urgent voice. Soon it started getting closer and closer until she realized that the voice was coming from a throat less than a foot in front of her face. That's when she suddenly remembered that she was still in the T-car with the rest of the team and began to notice a severe swerving motion that the entire car was going in.

She opened her eyes and the hallway melted away. Instead she saw her leader in the front seat, twisted around to face her, but was being tossed from side to side. The vehicle was going out of control for a moment, and then came to a gradual stop. Robin's emotions filtered through her and reveled to be worry; in fact, worry spread throughout most of the car. She looked down and noticed two arms, belonging to none other than Beast Boy, tightly woven around her trembling body.

"Raven?" Beast Boy asked cautiously.

"I have to leave," she rushed out as she tore Beast Boy's arms off of her and phased through the car door and into the neighboring wild. She noticed that the sky was still very dark, but she was never one to be afraid of the night like most people tend to be. She continued walking and realized, to her utter relief, that no one was following her. She allowed herself to become invisible within the density of the trees on the side of the narrow dirt road and venture into the unknown all alone for a productive while. She felt tears burning deeply in her eye socket, but she refused to let them fall. The turnout was that not only did her tears shamefully fall, but she still had to deal with the physical exhaustion that came along with trying to prevent the unwanted emotion.

As she climbed through the woods, she noticed that this was a lot like her life. She pushed blindly through an obstacle packed world where every little step could easily kill her or save her miserable life. The only thing that she could hope for was another opportunity to take an unknown, grueling step just to allow herself to continue taking more steps. She went through terrifying days where emotions ruled her life and with every wrong twist came a devastating result. She got through one day just for the sake of going through another day in the morning and face all of the horrors again. For what? Why did she have to continue traveling through the dark just to endure another day of darkness? Her torment and "reward" were becoming one. There was clearly no light at the end of the tunnel or through this forest. Just the stars and moon above had light; other worlds of people. Up in the sky she was able to stare at the light of everyone else's life. It was light that only her envy could reach. No longer did she wish to search for a light at the end of a tunnel, just a dead end so that there was no other torment that awaited her. She felt stuck, alone, disappointed, unmotivated, and weak.

The rest of the team watched as the young empath disappeared into the night. Beast Boy searched frantically from his window to try to pinpoint her location, but it was pointless. He knew that wherever she was, her goal was not to be found and maybe for now, it should be left that way. His ears drooped and his sleepy face began to transform into one of despair with a frowning mouth and dark, serious eyes. He needed a little walk himself at times like this.

Cyborg got out of his car to examine the damage. He couldn't possibly be mad because she had no control over the outcome and he knew that if there was anyone here who regretted it more, it was Raven herself. The overall damage wasn't too severe, just two flats on the right side of the T-car and a large dent in the right, back door. He imagined that the harsh swerving was not from the literal damage of the car, but because of Raven's uncontrolled powers; she must have been steering the car somehow in her sleep.

"Do you think we should go find friend Raven? I fear that she is not doing the all right," inferred Starfire sweetly.

"Right now, she needs some space. It may be too rough for her to be in such close quarters with everyone for so long," sighed Robin.

"Yeah, especially after bein' in her room for four days straight. She's probably shell- shocked. Besides, she has her communicator if anything is wrong," assured Cyborg.

"I think you're right. The best thing for us to do is just fix the car and get going. We could probably all use a little privacy, but only for a little while because we have a mission to complete and we can't waste too much time. That goes for you Beast Boy," Robin emphasized.

"Uhm, Beast Boy isn't here," observed Cyborg in surprise.

"Beast Boy…?" called Robin.

"I believe Beast Boy has done the privacy thing that you were talking about," figured Starfire.

He had to get away for at least a little while. Like Cyborg mentioned about Raven, when the team is ready to go, they can always call him on the communicator. He just needed time to be free, to let go. He wanted to roam the rough terrain of the earth and feel it move beneath his running feet. All of his subconscious animal instincts screamed for him to move faster. The freedom tasted greater as he let more and more of his animalistic side, take over. After the past couple of weeks, he needed a chance to let that part of him out.

Once he was protected by the encasing trees, he swiftly transformed into a wolf and ran through the forest. He easily dodged tall trees even with the great speed at which he was running. Despite his acute sense of hearing, the small sounds of the forest were, for the most part, blocked out by the sound of the rushing wind that flew past him in high rapidity. He ran and ran until his breath began to wear out. Eventually, Beast Boy slowed his pace to a quick walk on his paws' toes. His tongue hung out of his panting mouth as he continued forward. The release was brilliant and caused a certain beauty to pulse through his veins. It caused a peaceful sleepiness to befall him as if his work of the day had been completed and was now being rewarded with the bliss of sleep.

After being in his wolf form for so long, he transformed back into his himself. He looked up at the sky and noticed the millions of stars that illuminated it. The contrast between the dark night sky and the glistening silver stars played wonderfully. One could not be beautiful without the other. Breaking his captivity with the sky above him for just a moment, Beast Boy noticed a clearing ahead. It was a perfect spot for him to lie down and look up at the sky. He noticed that dawn was beginning to make its appearance and soon, the entire scene would melt before him and become almost something completely different. He wanted to witness every second of the natural transformation, like a set change between scenes of a live play, except this change had nothing to do with human interference. Nature had the strength to do it all on its own.

He sat himself down cross-legged and felt the ground for the most comfortable spot. He let an easy smile crawl onto his face and stretched his body out so that he could lie peacefully on the ground and stare up at the sky.

Raven tired to walk until her tired legs couldn't carry her anymore. It had to be somewhere close to five in the morning because she was just starting to see the sun rise, but the illumination wasn't strong enough to stream noticeable light through the fully bloomed trees; Raven was just able to sense the gradual shift. When she attempted to float above the ground to give her feet a rest, she couldn't take flight. The emotional fatigue was leading to her decrease in even physical activities. Closing her eyes and rubbing her temples, she realized that it was best to find somewhere to relax. She had no intensions of going back to the team until she was calmly meditated. She let her body stop moving when her feet refused to continue. Gradually, but not very gracefully, she slid down a tree and plopped to the ground with her head touching her knees, and her arms wrapped around them.

Beast Boy snapped out of his trance when he heard an abundance of snapping twigs just to the right of him. He looked into the dark trees, but the shadows played many tricks on his sight. He sucked in a huge amount of air through his nose and allowed his wonderful sense of smell to take over in the process of identifying the unknown creature that remained hidden within the forest. Without even finishing the analysis, he knew that it was Raven; it was one of his favorite scents.

"Rae?" he asked cautiously.

Raven's head shot up at the sound of his voice. _How could I be so careless?_ she thought in disappointment of herself for allowing her common sense to crumble and let herself get caught. She nobly decided not to answer.

"C'mon Rae, I can smell you," he chuckled.

She left out a defeated sigh and got up from her hiding spot and continued to the breaking of the trees just ahead of where she was sitting.

"I came here to meditate," she said flatly.

"Yeah, I came here to do something similar. The stars look great huh?" he said while tilting his head up to look at the masterpiece again.

"Yeah, they're pretty cool," she admitted.

"Well, you wanna come sit by me? I won't interrupt your meditating," he motioned to the grass patch next to him.

"I'm fine over here," she said looking away from him.

"C'mon Rae, seriously? It's not like I have cooties," he finished by sticking his tongue out and crossing his eyes for a comedic effect.

Raven had to thrust down her giggle, not because she was afraid of explosive emotions, but because she didn't want to admit that Beast Boy actually made her want to laugh.

"Fine," she sighed.

Beast Boy flashed a grin so bright that it illuminated his emerald eyes.

Raven trudged over next to him and sat down cross-legged with her back straight and with intensity that Beast Boy picked up on right away.

"Rae, you said you wanted to relax, so can you, like, relax? Lay down and look at the sky," he kindly suggested.

"People lie, objects lay," she corrected him.

"Okay, fine miss grammar police!" he attempted to make her laugh.

He turned his head over to where she was sitting and exasperatedly sighed.

"What?" Raven asked in clear annoyance.

Without saying a word, Beast Boy sat up, put his hands on the inside of her shoulders, and gently pushed her to the cool grass so that her body was lying on the ground in a relaxing position. With his hands still on her shoulder and his face inches from hers, he finally spoke.

"Re-lax," he stated forcefully as if he were a father telling his five year old daughter to stop running around the store and causing a scene.

Raven pulled up her hood and wore a facial expression of pure irritation and never once allowed her eyes to leave his bright ones.

Beast Boy smirked and resumed to his original position. He stretched out his arms and released a loud yawn before putting his hands behind his head.

"These are nothin' like you find in Jump City," he stated while still marveling over the stars above him.

"Yeah, pretty cool," she responded without emotion; however, just to herself, she had to admit that he was right… The stars were beautiful.

"It kind of makes me feel so… I don't know, like… small or something. My parents sacrificed their lives for me and, I don't know, I feel like I have to prove that it wasn't in vein. I just hope that they got to fulfill their lives' purposes…" Beast Boy whispered the last part with a hint of sadness. No matter how hard he tried to hide that gaping hole in his chest, Raven always felt it deep within his subconscious. Some days she felt it stronger than others, regardless, it was always there. Internally, Raven flinched because it was very rare that Beat Boy mentioned his past despite how life changing it was.

"Like we are just living beings on a floating piece of rock in a universe larger than numbers can express," he continued. "It makes me feel like I have to strive to make a difference. Like I have to try extra hard to find my purpose in life because there's so much competition to make a difference or to be important, ya know?" he contemplated.

Raven turned her head to him with a small amount of tears glassing over her eyes. Without saying a word, she got up and began walking away.

"Hey, where ya goin' Rae?" he asked a little sadly. He sat up and twisted his head to look at her.

"Don't call me that," she said quietly with her back still turned to him, her fists clenched at her sides, her eyes squeezed shut, and one slightly twitching.

"Raven, what's wrong?" he asked seriously.

"Nothing," she spat as she continued walking away.

"Don't 'nothing' me Raven," he stood up with a deep underlining concern.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"We all have to do things we don't want."

"Just leave me alone," she said under her breath knowing Beast Boy would hear it anyway.

"It's not that easy Raven," he said slightly softer.

"It's nothing. Just leave it," she warned.

"No," he said sharply.

Raven let out a sigh and turned around. "Want to know what the problem is? All this talk about purpose… What _is _my purpose?" she began to shout.

"What do you mean?" he asked puzzled.

"My only purpose in life is to kill everything that lives! To bring misery and destruction to the universe! That's all I'll ever be! That's the only reason my father ever created me! I was created to extinct everything else!" she shrieked.

As she spoke, her eyes began to turn white and her fists were clenching. Years of suppressed anger started bubbling out and spilling over, causing her to feel an unexplored amount of energy flood her distressed mind. She felt the blood in her pulsing veins more like dancing fire causing sparks that made her entire body want to jolt as if being electrocuted. The wind around her picked up until it formed a funnel-like structure around her. Within a fraction of a second, it formed a tunnel of dirt and leaves that spun faster than anyone's eyes could keep up with. For the most part, it was a brown blur. It shielded her body from sight and the rolling sound drowned out most of her own terrible sounds. Her anger was one of her greatest weaknesses, but this wasn't anger; it was worse. It was the feeling of defeat, vehement loss of everything good within her. The feeling clouded her mind and the air entering her lungs felt more like ice cold water that cut at her throat and drowned her entire body.

Beast Boy shielded his eyes from the flying debris. He was shocked by her sudden reaction. There was nothing that led up to this! One second she was fine, and the next she's ripping the forest apart. He had to do something before she really hurt herself. Despite the roar of the wind, he could still hear her soft cries. He knew she had issues lately controlling her emotions, but he had no idea how bad it really was. Her meek cries were songs of a lonely girl who deserved better. He pushed through the disaster to help her. He would stop at nothing to cure her.

"Raven, stop! Just listen to me!" he shouted over her wall of wind. He had no idea if this would actually work, but it was worth the shot. She was worth every shot, even the kind that can kill. "You don't have to believe anything your father has to say! That's what _he_ wanted for your destiny, but in truth, you've surpassed that! Raven, you have a greater purpose and that's one of the thousands of reasons that make you an amazing _person_! Not demon!"

Eventually, Beast Boy made it very close to the center of her tornado, but she still stood there like a stone, as if unfazed by the event happening and caught in her own world where no one can touch her or convince her of anything. "Just look at what you've done for the world! Without you, imagine how different things would be! It is not your purpose to destroy the world! You've transformed yourself and your purpose into something beautiful! Your purpose is what you make of it! You have control over this Raven! Just listen to me!"

No matter how hard he tried, there was no response. He could barely see now because the wind and particles trapped inside were blurring his vision. He saw that her feet were floating lazily just inches from the ground, but her body looked so grounded like a statue. "Raven, you're one of the smartest people I know; you're just not thinking! Purpose isn't something set in stone! It's something we hope for, something we reach for, not something we're born knowing! It's impossible to know your purpose when you're born because _life_ happens! We meet new people and try different things! Think of how you've changed Melvin, Timmy, and Teether! Think of how you've changed Robin and Starfire and Cyborg and… and me Raven! You don't realize how important you are! Shit Raven, just think for a moment!" he screamed as loud as he could project so that she could hear him.

Raven's cape twirled in the wind and her hair whipped around her face, but those were the only things moving on her. Everything else stayed still and cold, much like a rock. He could have sworn he noticed her feet come just slightly closer to the ground which meant to him that he was at least cutting through her cement walls that she's had up throughout most of her life. Narrowing his eyes with determination, he realized that this was his chance. Lowering his arms from his face, he endured the stress on his eyes for a moment to transform into a ram. At quickly as he could, he charged right at her and head-butted her right in the stomach.

The wind stopped as suddenly as it came and the dirt and leaves fell to the ground like heavy rain from storm clouds. Raven hit the ground with a loud gasp and her eyes went back to normal. Beast Boy sat next to her cupping her throbbing head in his hands. With his thumbs, he wiped away her streaming tears as she slowly blinked and then opened her eyes. He was more than happy to see her huge beautiful purple irises looking up at him again. She looked at him with a smoldering expression filled with wonder and thoughtfulness. Attempting to sit up straight, she clutched her stomach with one arm and held her head with another. She let out a very subtle hiss of pain from under her short breath. She turned her head to look at Beast Boy and her eyes began to water again. Beast Boy's eyes were swimming in concern and a deep and passionate caring aura. His green eyes were hard, but the effort to soften them was clear. He searched her entire body for any damage before finally looking into her eyes again.

"Oh Azar," she whispered beneath a quivering lip and fell into his embrace.

"Rae, never ever let me hear you say something like that again," he whispered in her ear that was attached to her head that was planted in his chest. His own eyes began to water as he held her there.

"Thank you," she sniffed under her breath.

"No, thank you," he responded, "for being alive and making a difference every day."

It was obvious to him. He was in love with her. With everything she has ever done and with everything she will ever do. There was nothing that could possibly sway his thoughts. He's always loved her and he knew it. She was a part of him and without her, he would surly die. There wasn't much else to say; it was like explaining the meaning of blue. It just is. He squeezed her tighter and wanted to never let go. The feeling he got with her presence was like nothing he has ever felt before and it was just as beautiful as she.

Finally, Raven gently pushed off of him and looked into his eyes again. They were softer now, but still drenched in an assortment of different emotions that made them look wild. With everything in her, she tried to smile. Her big result was a small raise of the corners of her mouth to bring them above a frown. Beast Boy giggled slightly and it took her off guard, but she didn't mind it.

"Dawn is beginning to come," she noticed.

"Yes it is," he responded softly because anything louder would have hurt his voice.

"I think I want to watch this; I've never seen it so perfectly before where the sky isn't polluted with human lights," she looked up at the sky.

"Okay Rae, as long as you're feeling a little better," he lightly smiled.

"Yeah, I think I'll be alright," she admitted. "Thanks to you," she added.

"All I had to do was reinforce the truth," he said.

Raven smiled at him and lied back down of the grass.

"I'm going to go get the team. I know Robin didn't want us here for very long, but I'll try to buy you some time," he said as he got up to leave.

"Okay," she responded a little sadly.

"I'll see you later Rae," he said through a smile.

Raven didn't say anything back as Beast Boy began walking away. Staring up at the brightening sky, she listened to his footsteps.

"Wait," her voice cracked slightly from an outworn voice.  
"What?" he turned around.

"Will you… uhm… watch the sunrise with me?" she asked tilting her head in his general direction, but not taking her eyes off of the sky.

"What about your meditation?" he questioned.

"I think this is as relaxing as it's going to get," she confessed.

"Of course," he agreed gently with a wide, goofy smile.

He sat down next to her, felt the ground with his hands, and then lied himself down next to her with his hands behind his head. He stole another look at her and she looked at him. Both of them giggled and resumed staring into the endless sky above them, trying to capture an amazing display of beauty and mystery incased in one sunrise, side by side.

**Sorry for the long wait, but I hope I made it all worth it! I hope you all enjoyed it :).**


	17. Chapter 17

The sun rose gently into the sky and woke up the rest of the forest. Gradually, the birds of the night quieted down, and in their place sang the early morning birds that provided a beautiful harmony that was well suited for such a bright day. The grass remained cool despite the growing heat of the sun.

Beast Boy stared intently into the lightening sky wondering what the rest of the team was doing on a wonderful occasion like this. He was shocked that neither he nor Raven ever received any call from the communicator- they had been gone now for at least an hour and a half. It surly was puzzling, but this wasn't a moment that he was willing to mar. He turned to Raven just to get a glimpse of the way her eyes would sparkle in the sunlight, but realized that her eyes were softly shut. Her body was completely relaxed and her breathing was smooth and rhythmic. His mouth formed into a smile at the sound of her breath, knowing that she was finally resting.

"Beast Boy," she whispered under her breath.

The sound of her voice made his ears perk up, but his grin deepened when he realized she was whispering _his_ name.

"Beast Boy," she said in a bit of a fuller voice.

His smile suddenly disappeared when he sensed the urgency and slight fear in her voice. All of a sudden, her breath began to quicken in shallow and erratic sounds. _Dammit_, he thought. _She's dreaming again_. Without wasting time, he began shaking her like he did every morning in an attempt to wake her up. He didn't call her name anymore because over time, he realized that it was feckless. He grabbed onto her shoulders and began violently shaking them before she started moving large objects with her powers again.

Suddenly, her eyes shot open and out of them spilled cold fear and confusion. Without thinking, she grabbed onto Beast Boy who wobbled just a little from not using all of his potential to balance. Even though the same routine happened every morning the two of them have yet to consider it as a non-shocking experience; Beast Boy still blushed when she grabbed him, he still worried for her life, and Raven was always surprised and confused. She grabbed fists-fulls of his sleeves and used him as something to lean on as if she was being tossed back into reality rather than waking up from a natural dream. Beast Boy waited patiently for her mind to wrap around the fact that her terrors were over and the real world can melt into place. Her breathing calmed down slightly at first and then gradually made it to a normal pace.

Raven looked into Beast Boy's worried eyes and began "Wha-" but was abruptly cut off.

"Yo, bird boy! I found them!" shouted Cyborg after barreling his way through the trees.

Cyborg paused to look at the image in front of him. There they were, Raven holding on to Beast Boy, both of them looking like deer caught in headlights, and their sweating faces nearly inches from each other. Cyborg smirked and snickered at the two of playfully which caused the atmosphere to become incredibly uncomfortable for both Raven and Beat Boy. They pulled away, blushing as Robin and Starfire joined them.

"Guys, there is no time to fool around. The two of you have been out here for over an hour. We have to get moving; the sun is already up," reprimanded Robin.

"My bad," Beast Boy responded quietly.

"Let's go then," Robin directed and turned around to start leading the team back.

Beast Boy and Raven looked at each other again and stared getting up. Beast Boy got up first and held out his hand to Raven who took it and hoisted herself up to walk with the rest of the team. Raven continued ahead without looking back at Beast Boy, but he lightly gripped onto her hood to prevent her from widening the gap between them.

"Raven, are you-"

"Fine," she cut him off.

"You call _that_ fine?" he pouted.

"No, but I call _this_ not wanting to talk about it," she spat without looking at him.

He slapped himself in the forehead and rubbed his hand down his face in frustration. Just when he thought he and Raven were off to a good start, something had to ruin it somehow. Although she never did tell him her horrific dreams unless it was forced out of her, and he knew well that he wasn't going to travel down that path again, his ambitions after last night were still unrealistically high.

Raven sighed and turned around to look at his deep green irises. "Thank you anyway," she finally mustered up the nerve to say.

Beast Boy let his hand fall to his side and lifted his head with a side smile, "Anytime."

Raven shyly smiled back and continued to walk forward with the rest of the team. Robin's high energy was more than apparent in his quickened strides through trees. Starfire hummed to herself quietly and kept up with his pace effortlessly while the rest of the team was at least a yard behind. It took about ten minutes for the team to make it out of the forest safely and back to the T-car. The car was put back into the dirt road and had two new tires on. The team loaded back into the car in their original seating order and Cyborg began driving away.

"I don't get it; why didn't you guys just call me or Raven on the communicators?" asked Beast Boy skeptically.

"Well ya little grass stain, we _did_ try, but neither of y'all answered!" shouted Cyborg who was a little irritated that he would insult their intelligence like that.

"Look dude, we never heard any kind of signal," responded Beast Boy defensively.

"Let me see your communicator," demanded Robin with his hand out stretched.

Beast Boy dug through his pocket and pulled out his communicator.

"Oh, hehe," he nervously giggled, "Looks like it's a little broken," he squeaked while handing the device to Robin.

Robin looked at the communicator, looked at Beast Boy, and then back at the communicator as if trying to receive some kind of connection.

"What in the world were you doing Beast Boy?" asked Robin who held up the nearly cracked in half object with random pieces missing, wires sticking out, and the antenna hanging by a thin scrap of metal that suddenly snapped off and fell to the car's floor.

Raven looked up at the communicator and her face twisted in mortification. One quick glance and she knew that it was because of either her blow up before the sunrise, or her reaction to the nightmare that she just had. She discreetly touched her hand to a pocket in the back of her cloak to feel for her communicator. The device was nearly flattened except for the bumpiness of the screen's shards.

Before Beast Boy answered Robin's question, he saw Raven out of his peripheral vision and realized that her head was hanging down and her face lacked even more color than usual. Then he came to the conclusion that it had to be because of her emotional blow ups, but there was no way he'd throw her under the bus like that…

"Well, I was running and I fell… so I must had broken it then," he lied.

"Be a little more careful next time," Robin warned him. "What about yours?" he looked at Raven.

"I lost mine," she simply lied, following Beast Boy's lead. She felt a small wave of relieve spill over her, allowing just enough time to look functional to Robin who was already skeptical enough.

Robin raised an eyebrow at her, "You _lost_ it?"

"Yes," she said keeping her voice steady.

"Raven, that's not like you at all," he probed.

Raven didn't have to say another word because her morose expression spoke for her. There was very little of it, but anyone who knew Raven could see the slightest hint of her apology glinting in her eye. Anyone else would have easily brushed it off- and that's if they saw it anyway- but to Robin, it was a loud statement that couldn't possibly go unnoticed. He realized that _he_ definitely didn't have to tell _her_ that she wasn't acting like herself. Robin was not a fool; he caught on to the fact that Raven's emotional explosions had something to do with this. He saw the damage done to Beast Boy's communicator and there was no way that he just fell on it. It was also quite coincidental that Raven lost hers the same day that Beast Boy dismantled his. He knew Raven's embarrassment got in the way of her expressing the truth, so he would just leave it for now. After all, what could possibly be done except finding and defeating Slade?

"I'll just make new ones," was all he said before turning back around in his seat.

Raven's heart sank, _he knows_, was all she could think. She was at least thankful that he didn't press her further and call her out on her unnecessary lie. She lifted up her hood and stared out the window and silently watched as more trees passed her by.

The rest of the team stayed pretty much in silence for the next half hour of driving in the car. All of them were lost in deep though. They all comfortably kept to themselves and watched with heavy eyes out of their respected windows- of course until Beast Boy found something to say.

"Whoa, dude! Why didn't we just take the train?" whined Beast Boy who pointed out the pattern of tracks laying on the ground beside the road.

"We would have, it's just that this area is so scarcely populated, that a daily train schedule wouldn't be economically feasible. The next train doesn't stop around here until tomorrow afternoon," clarified Robin.

"Ah man," huffed Beast Boy.

"Lighten up man! We all have to sit in this car for hours," called out Cyborg.

"Yeah, whatever," he pouted and then changed to a smile. "Why don't we play 'Would you rather'?" he snapped his fingers.

"No," Raven answered quickly.

"Oh, c'mon! You come up with something better to do then," he complained.

"Beast Boy, I really don't think any of us want to play anything right now," confessed Robin.

"I want to play! Please, what is this 'Would you rather' game?" wondered Starfire. The rest of the team groaned.

"Well, at least _someone_ appreciates my idea," he shouted. "Well, all ya gotta do is come up with two ridiculous situations and ask everyone which one they'd rather be forced to do," he explained.

"Hmmm, show me," she gleefully requested.

"Okay! Uhhhh, would you rather… swim in a pool of slug slime, or motor oil?" asked Beast Boy to the entire car.

"Motor oil," said Cyborg.

"Slug slime," said Robin.

"Uh, what is this slug and why does it produce slime?" she asked confused.

"It's an animal Star that is really really slimy and gooey," he chuckled.

Starfire shivered. "What about the motor oil? Is that an animal too?"

"No, it's this yellowish-brown stuff that's really thick and it kinda smells bad," he explained.

"Well, I guess I would have to choose neither," concluded Starfire.

"But Star, that's not how you play the game. You have to choose one," he cleared.

"Oh, I must be forced to pick one of these terrible things to do?" she shuttered.

"Well, yeah. It's the whole point of the game."

"Well I do not wish to jump into a pool of nasty slimes of slugs, and most certainly do not wish to swim in a bad smelling pool of yellowish- brown motor oil," she said worriedly.

"Starfire, you know that you don't actually have to do either of them, right? They're just pointless questions that are asked to explore your mind in extremes," explicated Raven.

Oh," she giggled. "I get it now! I guess I would choose the yellowish- brown motor oil."

"I've got one!" exclaimed Cyborg. "Would y'all rather have your pants fall down in public, or fart during a public speech?"

"Fart!" cracked up Beast Boy.

"Pants fall down in the public setting," said Starfire.

"Same here," said Robin.

"Okay Robin, you're up!" announced Beast Boy.

"Okay, fine. Would you rather eat a rose bush- thorns and all- or cow eyes?"

"Rose bush," said Beast Boy.

"Cow eye," said Cyborg.

"Rose bush with the thorns and all," said Starfire.

"Oh is it my turn to do the asking?" excitedly asked Starfire.

"Yup, your turn," answered Beast Boy.

"Would you much prefer being squashed by a Heglovich or whacked by a Zortif?"

"Uh, I guess the Heglovich…?" pondered Beast Boy.

"Yeah, I'll just go with that," said Cyborg confused.

"The Zortif..? Maybe," said Robin.

"All right Rae, it's your turn!" announced Beast Boy.

"I don't do 'Would you rather' or any other stupid game," she protested.

"C'mon Rae! You haven't answered one question yet! Be a little fun for once!" encouraged Beast Boy.

"No."

"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, pl-"

"Okay! Fine! Just shut up!" yelled Raven.

"Thank you," said Beast Boy sarcastically.

"Would you rather have to keep your mouth shut or be punted across a football field?" she asked bitterly.

"Hey!" squeaked Beast Boy over Cyborg and Robin's laughter.

"Hold on, hold on! I've got a great one just for you Raven!" laughed Cyborg.

"Here we go," moaned Raven under her breath as she slumped back in her seat.

"Would you rather be stuck with Beast Boy in a broken elevator for five hours or not be able to read for two weeks?" he snickered.

"Yeah Rae- Wait! Hey!" whined Beast Boy.

Raven's eye twitched at the thought of both, but grasped onto the possibly least likely to bother her.

"Whatever, I guess I'd rather be stuck with Beast Boy," she said quickly, but then blushed at what she just realized she said.

"Ohhhh, so you'd rather be stuck with this green bean than lose your reading for two weeks?" he smirked.

"Well, yeah I guess," she said as blankly as she could.

"I totally knew it," Cyborg snickered.

"What the hell Cyborg?" asked Beast Boy defensively.

"Just chill! It was just a question. It's for a stupid game for cryin' out loud!" he snorted.

"This game is so pointless," hissed Raven who resumed her original position with her neck cranked to the side to stare out of the window.

Beast Boy elbowed Raven playfully. "So you'd rather stay with me for five hours?" he teased and moved his eyebrows up and down at her.

"Are we there yet?" asked Raven annoyed, deciding to blow his last comment off.

"We don't have much longer; just about another three hours until we reach that ski lift over the mountain. From there we'll have to walk for another hour or so," replied Robin.

"Whoa man! You said nothin' about a ski lift!" yelled Cyborg.

"Why, what's wrong with a ski lift? You're not scared, are you Cyborg?" asked Robin giggling.

"Pfffttt, no way bird boy! I'm just… I'm just worried about uh, my car! Yeah, where am I gonna put this? I'm not leavin' it abandoned on the mountain in the middle of nowhere!" he said angrily.

"No worries Cyborg, I thought of that too. There's a garage there for maintenance purposes, and I'm sure there's room in there for you to put your car. See, nothing to worry about," said Robin still trying not to laugh at the thought of Cyborg afraid of a little ski lift.

Cyborg said nothing and continued driving on the tiny dirt road.

The temperature shift became very clear as the T-car continued in its travel towards the mountain. The windows were cold to touch and the trees outside were becoming less and less dense with leaves. The dropping temperatures soon came to take its effect on the inside of the car. The team started involuntarily shivering, which made Cyborg not hesitant to put on the heat. As they approached the last half hour of their trip by car, small white crystals began to softly drift to the ground. Most of them melted by the time they reached the dirt, but it would only be a matter of time before the ground became cold enough for them to stick and form piles of snow.

Suddenly the lift became visible just a couple of miles ahead of them. Soon, they would be forced to get into the cold and compact themselves into a cart that rode hundreds of feet above the ground on a small cable. The car made it up this miniature mountain, compared to the ones just ahead, and came to a stop on the top where the ski lift was waiting. Cyborg backed into the shed which had almost enough room for his entire car to fit; just a little bit of the nose was sticking out and the team had to be very careful with opening up the doors just to make sure they wouldn't slam the door into the walls.

"Finally," said Beast Boy as he got out and stretched his arms, but then immediately went back to crossing them and shivering.

"I am so glad that we made it up such a large land formation," congratulated Starfire through chattering teeth.

Robin walked over to her and pulled her close to him for warmth against the cold.

"Th-th-thanks," she sniffed.

"Anytime," he smiled.

Raven was ahead of all of them, but shivering all the same. She was too eager to find Bobby to worry about the cold. She found a cart and pulled it over with her magic, opened the door and motioned for the rest of the team to pile in. They all squinted to see her through the snowflakes and followed.

"What are you waiting for Cyborg?" called Robin hugging Starfire tightly from inside the cart. Everyone was already inside except for Cyborg who stood on the outside, looking at the ground below them.

"Calm down Robin, I'm coming," Cyborg squeaked.

"Cyborg, you are shaking all over," observed Starfire worriedly.

"I'm just cold," he snapped.

Cyborg inhaled deeply and put one foot in the cart.

"Would you hurry up," moaned Raven who wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

"Okay, one… two… two and a half… two and three quarters…" he mumbled under his breath with his eyes closed.

"Three!" yelled Beast Boy laughing as he grabbed his friend's arm and pulled him in.

Cyborg let out a loud, squealing cry and jumped right between Robin and Starfire and grabbed the two of them as he shivered in fear.

Beast Boy curled into a ball and began laughing so hard that he thought his ribs would break.

"H-h-hey man! That's n-n-not cool! I ain't s-s-s-scared of a dumb s-s-ski lift!" defended Cyborg as he stood up with what little dignity he had left.

"Oh, you're not, huh?" pressured Beast Boy who narrowed his eyes.

Beast Boy morphed into a kangaroo and started hopping around the cart and making it shake violently. Cyborg screamed and clung to Raven who was impatiently standing in the center. She wobbled against Cyborg's grasp and rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Knock it off Beast Boy!" ordered Robin who was getting just as fed up.

Beast Boy did what he was told, but not without the hysterical laughter while he clutched his sides and kicked his legs.

"That's not funny!" whined Cyborg, letting go of Raven.

Raven let out a sigh and moved the lever of the machine with her powers. The cart traveled at a lazy speed over the mountains. For both Cyborg and Raven, this was one of the longest ten minutes of their lives.

For Cyborg, it wasn't the heights that terrified him because he flew at much greater heights than this, but during all of those times, he had at least some type of control. In this position, he had none, so the heights seemed much more dramatic than they really were. For Raven, this was another ten minutes that Melvin, Timmy, and Teether had to spend lost and confused.

Eventually, their ride came to an end and they all quickly got out and started their walk to the Monk Sanctuary. It would be a long walk, but at least down here, it wasn't as cold. They looked around and saw nothing but green hills of long grass, and minimal trees; just wide open space.

"But how will we know which was to go?" questioned Starfire.

Without a word, Raven flew up to the sky to search for the temple. The building was large and the land was mostly barren, so spotting it shouldn't be a problem. She turned her head from side to side until she finally noticed the vast structure of the Monk Sanctuary.

"I found it," she called down to them.

"Where is it?" Robin shouted back.

"It's just over the next two hills, just follow me," she directed from above.

Beast Boy transformed into a pterodactyl and let Cyborg climb onto his shoulders and fly up to meet Raven. Starfire grabbed Robin and gracefully floated up to meet the rest. Flying the way there would be a lot quicker and less tiring than walking.

Raven was too anxious to rescue Melvin, Timmy, and Teether. It has been a while since she's really seen them. They were sent to live with the Monks for a while before they are old enough to live on their own and form their own version of a young team. For now, they were too young. Raven begged to have them live with her and the rest of the team, but that soon ceased when she realized how dangerous that would be for them. The Teen Titans were always fighting dangerous criminals that would surly pounce on these young children because they're so vulnerable. The Titans Tower was no place for kids to be. It broke her heart, but she knew she was doing the best for thing them.

Saying good-bye was a rough process, but they always knew that they'd see each other again. Every so often, Melvin, Timmy, and Teether would come over to visit the titans and Raven would get the day to spend with her kids. She took them out to the movies once and another time, after much pleading effort made by the three of them, she even took them to the amusement park. The trip made her miserable, but seeing the smiles on all of their faces made her bitterness drift away for moments at a time. Every time she saw them, they grew bigger and bigger. Teether was able to almost speak in full sentences, Timmy knew the entire alphabet already, and Melvin's hair grew nearly to her waist. Whenever the sun would set on one of those surprise visits, her heart would fracture and she'd have to find everything in her power not to let her tears spill over her eyes. She missed them terribly and there wasn't a day that went by without her thinking of their rapturous faces.

It made her sick to think that anyone had the guts to kidnap such innocent children. Slade has done some pretty messed up things, but never this horrible. They were children! Sweet, harmless children and Slade found a way to mess around with their heads too. All she knew was that the next time she saw Slade or anyone else involved with the kidnapping, she was going to beat them so badly that they will be wishing for death.

She couldn't help but blame herself for a majority of this. How could she let this happen? It she was just a little more cautious about her mirror and about her emotions, Slade would have never known about her strong bond with her children. All three of them were suffering right now because of her and it made her loath herself even more. She wanted to cry for them, but knew that it would do no good. She had to stay strong and fight for them. Luckily for her, hiding her deep emotions was one of her many talents.

They had been flying for merely a half hour until they were hovering nearly just above the castle. Beast Boy and Starfire were growing tired from carrying an extra person with them, so they were thankful when Raven lowered herself to the ground and decided to walk the last five minutes of the way. Just by looking at the grey stone of the temple, she knew that Victor was right; something was wrong here.

The place was vacant of all life. None of the monks were found and the place looked abandoned for days. Raven felt the worry fill up her insides like liquid poison. She felt her vision begin to blur and her blood race through her body, causing her breath to slightly quicken.

Now they were standing in front of what used to be the front door, but now it was nothing but a hole and some shambles. Raven's stare was blank, but intense. Her gaze followed through the dark hallway that was once beautiful and filled with caring people, but is now hallowed and cold. She had no idea that her hands were shaking at her sides, not violently, but enough to make her fingers twitch. She didn't even notice Beast Boy's presence until his arm pulled around her tense shoulders.

"It'll be alright Rae," he whispered in her ear.

She turned her head around to see his empathetic eyes. They were looking right into her and it scared her a little. It scared her because she knew she was showing some kind of emotion and it he saw it, no matter how apathetic she thought she looked. It scared her because it represented how easily Slade saw into her. Beast Boy may be looking to help, but Slade was hoping to rip her apart. She could deny it all she wanted, but the only person she was fooling was herself. He was able to see what makes her angry, what makes her sad, what makes her happy… _who_ makes her happy… The thought stung her and she had to rip away from his arms, or this thought would become much too real.

"Bobby!" she called through her cuffed hands.

"Bobby!" Beast Boy yelled too.

Raven looked back at him. He paused and just shrugged his shoulders. No matter how hard she pushed him away, she was never getting rid of him. Maybe that isn't such a bad thing…

"Bobby!" she called again.

"Hey dude! Uh, sir. Bobby!" Beast Boy called.

Raven took flight around the castle. She was beginning to believe that Bobby wasn't here at all. Her heart raced as her wariness became more prominent. _What if he isn't here? What if I was wrong?_ She flew to the top of the castle and frantically searched for the big, brown teddy bear that a year or two ago, she thought was nothing but a figment of Melvin's imagination. There was nothing to be seen. Raven's heart writhed in pain within her chest, slamming against her skin with every beat.

Suddenly and thankfully, Raven realized the problem and she raced down to explain it to the rest of the team. Beast Boy was shouting around the grounds while Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg were searching the castle for survivors; so far there were none.

"Guys! You guys have to leave for a little bit," she ordered.

"What are you talking about Raven?" asked Robin concerned.

"It's Bobby. It's difficult to explain, but basically, he's too scared to show himself to us. He's not sure if he can trust us after what just happened. We have no idea how fresh this scene is; maybe he's still in hiding. He knows me and he trusts me. Maybe if it's just me, he'll become visible again," she pleaded.

"Raven, I don't know if it's such a good idea for us to split up like this. Slade could be anywhere," Robin presumed cautiously.

"Robin, please just trust me… This could be the only chance I have to rescue them. They're my kids and I let them down. You've got to let me try," she nearly cried.

Robin searched her eyes and found the slight desperation in her eyes that she always tried consistently to hide. Finally, he let out a sigh. "Fine, but we'll be right over that hill and we'll be watching you," Robin agreed reluctantly.

"Thank you Robin," she smiled.

"Just be careful," he returned the smile and led the rest of the team over the hill.

Raven watched as they positioned themselves out of sight. Beast Boy tried to convince her to let him disguise as an animal close by or even a little green fly, but Raven just sighed and explained that Bobby wasn't easily fooled. If he doesn't trust someone, he won't come out for sure and she was not about to risk that. Once no one on the team was visible, she resumed calling out to Bobby.

"Bobby!" she attempted again.

No answer.

"Bobby!" she tried again, but the result was static.

She couldn't believe that this was happening. They came all this way just to waste time. Melvin, Timmy, and Teether could be anywhere, and this wasn't helping anyone except for Slade. She thought she was going to tear up, when Raven thought of another approach. If Bobby was scared, there was no way he would respond to yelling.

"Bobby, come here Bobby. It's me, Raven. You remember me, right?" she gently spoke rather than called.

When no answer came, she tried to beg.

"Come on Bobby, please help me. Where are you?"

Again, there was no answer.

"Bobby… I know you're scared, but I'm scared too and I want to help Melvin, Timmy, and Teether, but I can't do it without your help. I know you're here; it's just an old friend, Raven. Please help me rescue them," she grew more desperate on the inside, but grew softer in her voice.

All of a sudden, Raven felt the ground beneath her feet vibrate just a little, but there was nothing that she could see around her.

"Bobby?" she whispered.

Bobby faded into view right in front of her. Raven was so relieved, that she actually smiled. The teddy bear looked a little frightened, so Raven bowed her head and held out her hand to him. Finally coming to the conclusion that it really was Raven, Bobby put on a grin that covered his entire face. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into a tight hug and made a sweet purring noise.

"Oh… Hi… Bobby," Raven said through choked breaths.

Bobby placed her back on the ground and stared at her with the same wide smile.

"I'm glad to see you too Bobby. You're completely okay? No one hurt you or saw you?" she asked.

Bobby shook his head side to side.

"Okay, good job Bobby!" Raven tried to put at least a little enthusiasm into that statement.

Bobby just returned an even bigger smile as if to thank her for the complement.

"Okay Bobby, is there any way that you can tell me what happened or where they went? Did you hear anything? See anything?" she attempted to get answers as quickly as possible.

Bobby just looked at her with sadness in his eyes that made Raven's heart sink. She felt his fear and confusion pervading his emotions as he recalled the event. Without a sound, Bobby put his arm up to her head.

"Wha-" Raven began to ask, but the question evolved into a piercing scream from her throat.

She felt a jolt of energy surge through her head and her vision went black, but soon a scene began to play in her head and she relaxed.

Back on the nearest hill overlooking the temple, about two minutes from where Raven was talking with Bobby, the team was waiting patiently for orders from Raven, signaling that it was okay to walk back.

"Wow, that is Bobby?" asked Starfire observing from a distance.

"I guess so Star," answered Robin in curiosity.

"That is one big teddy bear," commented Cyborg.

"He's not going to hurt her, is he?" asked Beast Boy warily.

"No, I trust Raven. I think she knows what she's doing and if anything happens, she'll signal us," reassured Robin.

Unconvinced, Beast Boy continued to stare intently at the two conversing when all of a sudden, her shriek echoed over the hills and ripped through the air.

"I'll rip his big, furry head off!" yelled out Beast Boy as he transformed into a wolf and began sprinting before anyone could stop him.

The wind rushed through his fur, his claws dug into the ground and kicked up mud, and the rushing sound of air clogged his ears. All Beast Boy kept thinking was: _How could I leave her alone like this?_

Raven's entire sensory structure took in the scene as if she really were there. The sky was dark and the stars were plentiful above. The night air was crisp, but for the most part, still. The temple was in her view, not even a couple of yards away and she saw Bobby playfully running after her. What was this? Then she heard a kind voice calling Melvin's name. Her point of view turned around and she saw a sweet, elder bald man with an orange robe held to his body with a lax rope and the extra part of the rope lazily oscillated at his side. He held his hands out right towards her, motioning to come. She started running towards him and jumped up in his arms. It became apparent that Raven had no control over what was happening. It was more like watching a movie through someone else's eyes, which raven inferred were Melvin's. The monk carried her in, and the movie suddenly transformed into a horror.

A loud explosion filled her ears, but then was muffled, probably because Melvin cupped her hands over her ears as a natural reaction. This was everything Melvin saw, heard, and felt on that night. The monk placed her down and ran towards the sound. Bobby appeared at her side and made a growl in the back of his throat and ejected his claws. Raven watched as Bobby reached out his hand and hoisted her up on his back. Together, they rode to the back and found the monks encircling Timmy and Teether. She felt the fear from Melvin racing into harsh adrenalin and felt the panic well up inside her when she laid her eyes on her team. Billy numerous surrounded the monks with no problem and began beating them relentlessly. The monks put up a good fight, but there were just too many of them. Cinderblock crashed through the back wall and crushed several other monks. With them distracted, Julie and Control Freak grabbed the two young boys. Teether gnawed off pieces of rubble on the ground and began shooting them at his captures, but they did nothing more than yelp when hit.

Bobby started running full force towards the mass of fighters and pulled out his claws. He easily picked up Control Freak, took Teeher out of his hands, and threw him back to the ground. Julie tried to escape, but Bobby nabbed her too. Melvin quickly climbed down to aid her younger team members while Bobby tried to attack Billy Numerous while Adonis took over the positions of attacking the monks. _What's Adonis doing here?_ Raven wondered. Victor never mentioned his brother's involvement.

Screams and slams and bangs filled the capacity of her ear drums as the battle continued. Everything seemed fine until Cinderblock got a hold of Bobby and knocked him to the ground.

"Don't hurt Bobby!" screeched Melvin with tears in her eyes while holding Timmy and Teether's hands.

Before any of them could scream another word, Control Freak pressed a button on one of his black remotes, and a cold, metal case closed them in. They started thrashing and pulling their bodies, but nothing was working. The case wouldn't budge for anything; even Teether who tried chewing it, and Timmy who tried shouting to disrupt the sound waves couldn't do anything. Control Freak slung the three of them over his shoulder and Raven's vision went in swirls as a result of being tossed and turned on his back. The sense of fear was stronger now as they were being dragged away on the back of a horrible stranger.

"Let's go!" called Julie, running right in front of Control Freak.

"What 'bout this dang teddy bear?" called Billy Numerous.

"Forget the fuckin' bear! Slade said nothing about a bear! Let's just go!"

Responding to the order, Cinderblock and Billy Numerous started running towards Julie. Bobby sat up and started running after them. Cinderblock smirked, and with one swipe of his large hand, Bobby hit the floor again.

"Bobby, no!" yelped Melvin.

Bobby got back up and started running again, but Cinderblock kicked him back down.

Melvin's vision started to blur with tears. "Bobby, just hide! Get out of here!"

Bobby wouldn't leave so easily. He got up again and darted towards the team of kidnappers.

"Bobby, I mean it!" Melvin sniffed.

Cinderblock wheezed with what was supposed to be laughter as he hit Bobby again.

"Bobby, I'll force you to hide!" she cried.

Her vision went dark as Melvin closed her eyes tightly, and then opened her eyes to see that Bobby had vanished.

They kept running for quite some time, over hills and through grass. Teeher was crying and Melvin's entire body was trembling. They kept traveling like this for a little while longer until they started decreasing in altitude and Raven noticed that the sky was beginning to disappear and a tunnel was forming around them. They kept on going down further and further into the earth. _That's it!_ Raven thought,_ they're underground!_

Her vision turned completely dark again. Then pixels of colors from her own vision started to come back. She saw Bobby still standing in front of her with his arm resting against her head. Slowly, his eyes opened too, and they were staring at each other.

"Thank you Bobby. I know how much trouble you must have gone through to recall that, so tha-" Raven began to pay gratitude when she noticed a green, angry wolf in the midst of pouncing on Bobby.

"Beast Boy, no!" she cried.

Bobby turned around and whacked Beast Boy to the ground. Beast Boy let out a weak dog whine as he hit the ground.

"Bobby, don't freak out! It's okay!" Raven tried to reason with Bobby, but he picked her up and started sprinting away.

"Bobby, stop! He's my friend! He probably thought you were hurting me! Put me down!"

Bobby just kept running into a full sprint, terrified that this peculiar stranger would catch up. Beast Boy kept running towards them, even with his limp, at a full speed.

"Beast Boy! Change back! Change back!" Raven called after the changeling.

Beast Boy, finally hearing the order, changed back to himself, but with a set of angry eyes.

"Bobby, look! He stopped chasing us! He's a friend, I promise!" she tried to yell over the rushing wind from their velocity.

Bobby didn't show any sort of response; he just kept running. Raven bounced in his swinging arm that she held onto for dear life. She felt her neck being twisted on her shoulders and her head just swayed loosely like a bobble head doll. She heard the heavy breathing from Bobby and felt his anxiousness while at the same time, she heard the angry growls come from Beast Boy and she felt his distrust and fury as he changed back into a wolf and continued the chase. She had to think fast, or this would end in a big heap of lost time.

"Bobby!" she choked out. "He'll help us find Melvin! We have to give him a chance! Trust me Bobby- for Melvin, Timmy, and Teether!"

Bobby, for the first time since Beast Boy appeared, began to respond. He slowed down until he was doing more of a jog rather than a sprint, and looked at Raven in his arms. He contemplated for a moment with a broken look on his face.

"He wants to help them too Bobby. You have to trust us. Please…" she said in desperately.

Bobby's mouth began to quiver, but he stopped and held it in all the same. Before putting Raven down, he turned to glare at Beast Boy who was still rushing towards them. Bobby released a protective growl from deep within his chest. Bobby only wanted to protect Raven as much as Beast Boy did which made this situation quite ironic and counter-productive.

Bobby placed her down on her feet softly and patted her head. Raven dusted herself off and clutched her dizzy head. Beast Boy saw this and halted himself as quickly as he could. He transformed back into himself and ran up to Raven, ignoring Bobby's warning. He grabbed Raven's shoulders and swung her behind him and stood with his arms outstretched, trying to cover her entire body from Bobby's view.

"Beast Boy, cut it out. I'm fine," she informed him in a vexed tone.

"What are you talking about?!" he shouted. "I heard you scream!" he continued, not taking his eyes off of Bobby.

"He just startled me. He's not doing anything except getting us closer to saving Melvin, Timmy, and Teether," she rolled her eyes.

"How? By dragging you through East-Jesus Nowhere?" he fired back.

Raven impatiently sighed. "No stupid, he was trying to save me from you. He thought you were trying to hurt me and if you don't calm down, Bobby will disappear and we'll never be able to find my- uh- _the _kids," she snapped.

"_He's_ trying to save you? Dude, I'm the one doing the saving!" he finally turned around to look at her.

"Well stop trying to save me because I don't need saving," she crossed her arms.

Beast Boy held the intensity in his gaze for a second, but backed down once he finally realized that she was right.

"Yo, BB! Rae! What's going on over there?" called Cyborg, running up to the three of them followed by Robin and Starfire.

"Nothing, everything is fine. There was just a bit of miscommunication between Beast Boy and Bobby," Raven announced.

"Did you find anything out?" inquired Robin.

"Yeah, Bobby showed me," she said turning to Bobby who was shying away from all of these new faces.

"Bobby, it's okay. They're my friends too and they want to help," Raven reassured Bobby.

"Awww, he is so adorable!" squealed Starfire, floating up to his face with love-filled eyes and her hands folded under her chin.

Bobby looked at her and smiled weakly until she pulled him into a huge hug, which was well suited for him considering that he was able to withstand bone-crushing blows. He smiled even wider and purred while Starfire pet his furry head.

"How is he helping you anyway?" Beast Boy asked, not losing the hint of skeptics in his voice.

"Well, he did just show me Melvin's memory."

"What? How'd he do that?" he asked not impressed.

"Well," Raven looked up at Bobby who was attempting to relax his expression as well. "Since Bobby is a part of Melvin's mind, he can look into it as well. Apparently, he can send it to other people too."

Bobby smiled at her.

"Soooo… what did you find out?" asked Beast Boy.

"Oh yes! Please tell us what you have discovered about your kids' location," exclaimed Starfire still ruffling Bobby's ears.

"They're around here, not too far and alive," she answered searching the grounds.

"How close is 'not too far'?" asked Cyborg.

"Underground," she nearly whispered. She felt just that little bit of hope flickering in her core, but she was trying to be more careful to not let it out just yet.

**I hope you enjoyed chapter 17 guys! I'm sorry for the super long wait! I have been so busy with homework and college applications that I haven't gotten much time to write. I hope you all can forgive me XD. Reviews much appreciated! **


	18. Chapter 18

"Uh, underground where?" asked Cyborg, scratching his head while looking confused at Raven.

"Bobby showed me; I saw it through Melvin's eyes. It was a clear indication that they took her underground around here somewhere. They ran over hills for quite a while, and then ran through some kind of tunnel or something; as if they dug a perfect tunnel for them to run through," she said more to herself to ponder than for any other reason.

"So, how do we plan to find this?" asked Robin, getting ready to take action.

"I don't know," confessed Raven in an even raspier voice than usual.

Robin looked at Raven and then to the ground. He wanted more than anything to help her come up with a plan, but it was not an easy task with such little evidence to ride on. Sleep deprivation was also gnawing away at everyone, including Robin. It was only the later afternoon, coming into the evening sunset, but to Robin's splitting headache, it could have been four in the morning. Besides the spontaneous periods consisting of about twenty minutes at a time in the moving T-car, most of the team hadn't slept for the past twenty-four hours. The circumstances, though grueling, were just a part of the mission, and like any other mission, they all had to stick it out and be the heroes that they pledged to be. Robin was not about to let Melvin, Timmy, Teether, Bobby, or Raven down.

"Well," Robin began after the short pause. "We have quite some daylight to burn," he grinned.

Raven returned the favor with a tiny smile, "Let's start looking," she directed.

"What must we search the grounds for?" asked Starfire, levitating in the air and getting ready to search through the sky.

"Anything that's out of the ordinary. Anything that looks artificial or looks like some kind of covered hole. Even look into slopes of the hills and check rocks, and trees, and soft spots in the terrain," suggested Raven while taking in her surroundings and trying to devise a more clear way in finding the hideout.

"Why doesn't Bobby just go where Melvin is right now? He can do that, right? And then he can just poof himself here?" asked Cyborg, trying to come up with a new course of action.

"He would, but we have no idea where they are. Sure, Bobby can become invisible and hide while finding out where Melvin is, but this may not be a place where Bobby can fit. He could very easily blow our cover and we need Bobby right now to help us find them, so we can't risk him being caught. Melvin would have never made Bobby stay if she didn't figure that out too," clarified Raven as she silently thought in pride of how much Melvin's intellect has grown.

The team began searching the grounds for exactly what Raven said: anything out of the ordinary. Although you'd think that in a barren land of hills and grass it would be easy to spot something "out-of-the-ordinary", but time passed and nothing showed. For the most part, Starfire took to the sky to spot something and Cyborg marched through the tall grass, carefully looking into his arm to see if he could detect any kind of technology from below the ground. Robin and Raven searched the environment for soft spots in the dirt and sides of hills. Beast Boy spent most of his time as a mole, quickly digging underneath the earth's surface, hoping to come across other tunnels. Bobby sat in the grass, trying to look into Melvin's memories to see if there was anything giving away the location.

Hours passed and the sun was long gone. Stars overtook the sky's void and the single moon illuminated a little bit of light that still allowed for the team to get the basic gist of the darkened world around them. With only sparse ounces of sleep in their weakened systems, there was little room left for perseverance. Nothing was being found, not even the slightest, and energy had all but completely exhausted from each member of the team.

Not wanting to complain for many reasons, Starfire continued to soar above the grounds on what little energy she had left. Her eyes where heavy, and her speed was lagging, but the most concerning was her swirling head. The entire picture ahead of her was rocking back and forth in a dizzying swaying motion. Her yawns were frequent and her headache was worsening, but she didn't want to give up on Raven. Before Starfire was able to take in the danger of the situation, her eyes involuntarily shut, and she began falling to the ground with rushing speed in a spell of a limp body.

"Starfire!" shouted Robin as he ran at top speed to catch her before she hit the ground.

Raven abandoned her search, and flew up to grab Starfire. Her hood came off of her head and her hair whipped around her face as she rushed to aid her unconscious friend. Raven made it to Starfire within two seconds, and grabbed her shoulders in mid-air. The force of gravity yanked at the conjoined two, but Raven worked through it and gently floated to the ground where Robin was waiting with shaking hands.

"I think it's time to call it a day. We'll continue searching in the morning," directed Robin as soon as Starfire was placed in his arms, snoring.

"Is she alright?" asked Beast Boy running over to the scene.

"Yeah, she's fine, just exhausted," explained Robin.

"Robin's right," confessed Cyborg. "We'll never get anything done like this."

"You guys go ahead; I'll stay here and continue looking," said Raven, turning around to continue on her search.

"No way Raven. You're way too tired and you're going to get hurt," ordered Robin.

"I'll be fine," Raven stubbornly responded.

"Okay, let's say you _do_ find out where they are. How do you plan to fight off whoever is there guarding them?" questioned Cyborg.

"I don't know, but I'm not about to let the three of them suffer another night in captivity," Raven stood her ground.

"Raven, relax. I know you want to help them, we all do, but none of us, not even you, are capable of saving them at this time. Victor said that hurting them is not in their plans until you show up. You could potentially make the whole situation much worse if you go like this now," persuaded Robin in desperation to make her stay.

Raven stared at him unconvinced. "It's my responsibility to them Robin. I can't give up on them."

She turned around to go on and walked a mere four steps and suddenly came to a halt when she felt impacting vibrations in the ground. It was Bobby and he was blocking her way with his arms crossed around his chest and his eyes staring directly at her. Raven looked up at the ten foot tall teddy bear and let her head fall loosely on her neck; she felt a slight twitch in the corners of her mouth to make a defeated frown, but she kept her face aligned normally. Bobby's expression was twisted with sadness, but understanding too. He knew that Raven was better off going to sleep tonight and continuing as a team in the morning. He was mentally preparing for a possible battle between the two of them, but Bobby was more than thankful that he didn't have to.

"Rae, we all think you should come back with us. Even Bobby thinks so," directed Beast Boy as he put a hand on her shoulder, but kept the rest of his body at arm's distance away.

"Whatever," said Raven in a monotone as she turned around, twisting off Beast Boy's hand.

Raven didn't have to express any emotion for the atmosphere to suddenly pervade coldness; everyone was able to internalize it and inwardly shiver.

"Let's just sleep in the Temple for now," suggested Robin who hugged onto Starfire's sleeping body, as if to protect her from the slight chill in the air.

Everyone sleepily followed without much protest. They walked over several green hills which took about twenty minutes to do. Their feet dragged though the tall grass, the soft patches of moss, over tiny rocks and around spontaneous boulders, and onto the moist dirt that poked through the grass-filled terrain like balding spots. The overall environment around them was nearly untouched by man, which honestly made this world so desirable; there was less evil in every corner. Here, there was nothing but the scintillating stars, the calming moon, and the sincere promise of morning lurking in the dark of the night. It would be sinful to ever destroy such a beautiful and serine world as this.

Eventually, they made it to the temple as Starfire started to twitter her eyes. Robin carried her the whole way without ever once complaining. When she stirred in his shaking arms, he made sure that his smile was there to greet her opening eyes. He lightly kissed her forehead and gently whispered for her to go back to sleep. She smiled, closed her eyes with a yawn, and drifted back into her dreamland.

The team entered the temple and began scanning for a safe place to take a rest. They didn't want to risk falling asleep beneath an unsteady ceiling or between crumbling walls. More towards the right of the building, the walls were a little more promising and the ceiling was holding strongly. Bobby was able to join them because the doorway was completely broken off; if Cinderblock was able to fit through, so was Bobby.

Luckily for them, there was a blue and yellow carpeted area that resembled patterns of flowers for them to recline on. It wasn't the most comfortable- cold and a little hard- but it was better than the cobbled stone floor that surrounded them. Robin softly placed Starfire down and let himself relax next to her. Having more than enough room on the carpet, Bobby curled up in a ball and allowed himself to fall asleep too. It was grueling for him to sleep these past couple of days without his companion, but with the titans there, he felt more at ease. Beast Boy lazily formed into a dog, stretched his long body out, and plopped himself back down to the floor where he chose to sleep.

Raven lied down on her back along the rough fibers in the carpet. Her body was still unnaturally tense, and her eyes remained wide open as if she would be able to force the sun up with the intensity writhing through her body. She listened acutely for any footsteps outside, but heard none that belonged to humans; just the sound of flapping wings, the scurrying mice, and the orchestra of crickets filled the soundless void. She lied there for what seemed to be an hour, but what in reality was only a matter of fifteen minutes.

Over and over again, she silently weighed out the pros and cons of just getting up and traveling on her way to continue her self-inducted search for Melvin, Timmy, and Teether. She kept hearing their screams in her echoing head and kept catching glimpses from the back of her mind from Melvin's memory. Everything in that moment seemed bleak for the three of them, yet she couldn't risk leaving. As much as she wanted to save them with as little time possible wasted, she reluctantly knew that her teammates were completely right. There was no way that she would be able to take on these horrible people on her own once she did find the hide out. In the end, it wasn't worth it and she would be doing more harm than saving. Every instinct was forcing her restless body to snap up and rescue her kids, but her mind was stronger, and she knew that would be simply counterproductive. It wasn't worth the extremity of the probable loss.

After coming to the conclusion that not venturing out was best, she took a couple of deep, arduous breaths. She felt her exhaustion so immensely, that the room above her seemed to rock back and forth with indescribable shadows of paranoid darkness. Closing her eyes, she attempted to fall asleep and rest her drowning head. Now lying on her side, she hugged her knees to her chest and tried to get comfortable. This act played fruitless as she tossed and turned in the darkness of the room. She let her eyes connect with the light streaming through the window from the moon, hoping that this would calm her.

When absolutely nothing continued to work, she huffed in frustration and sat up. She waited for her eyes to become adjusted to the dark enough so that she could make out silhouettes. She saw the large mass of Bobby sleeping not too far from her, and next to him, two smaller frames cuddled close together, another larger figure lying on its back with a blinking red light, and then a figure of a dog resting a couple of feet to her side. She scrunched her nose at the sight of Beast Boy's dog form. She was never much of a dog person, especially when they slobber all over the place with slimy beads of saliva rolling around their massive pink tongues.

Soundlessly, she stood up and floated out of the room so that her footsteps wouldn't disturb the peace. She made it through the doorway and into the field where the crisp fresh air engulfed her lungs with sweet relief. The bitter coolness felt good on her hot face as she floated further and further away from the edifice that held her sleeping friends in a temporary comma of surreal imaging and delightful breathing patterns. She couldn't help but be jealous of how easy it was for them to close their eyes and fall away into a pleasant dream world. It may seem strange, but it was almost like Raven forgot what it was like to dream and to find an example of what to wish for. Without dreams, the world seemed less forgiving.

Raven continued to float in the air over valleys and hills that were cast with the shadows of night. She looked up at the sky and was grateful to see that the stars were just as vibrant and numerous here as they were in the forest- nothing like the night sky's of Jump City that was shamelessly polluted with never ending electrical lights. Her intentions of sneaking out of the temple were not to aimlessly search for her three kids, but to meditate. She never got to meditate in the forest, so it was imperative that she try it again.

Not wanting her emotions to catch up to her, Raven started to fly faster as if trying to outrun them. She searched for a quiet spot that was far enough away from the temple so that she could meditate in peace and they could sleep undisturbed simultaneously.

She slowed down in the air and came to a soft stop in the deepest part of a small valley about two hills away from the monk's sanctuary. She crossed her legs and landed on the cool grass that tickled her exposed thighs. The rush of something cold on her skin alerted her senses, much to her dismay. Getting used to the feeling, her muscles relaxed and she held her head straight ahead with her back erect with her large eyes gently shut. She observed the earth around her without sight and tried to envision the earth turning on its axis ever so slightly.

Raven took in a breath to begin her chant, when she was interrupted by an intruder.

"What are you doing out here?" asked Beast Boy rather concerned.

"What are _you_ doing out here?" Raven asked, crossing her arms.

"I asked you first," said Beast Boy, matching her attitude.

"I came out here to meditate," she replied flatly.

"Are you sure that's what you came out here to do?" asked Beast Boy, obviously not very convinced.

"Pretty sure," Raven rolled her eyes.

"Mind if I join you then?" asked Beast Boy, not losing his clear suspicion.

"Yeah, actually I do," Raven said in an ice cold monotone.  
"How do I know that you're actually meditating?" he asked.

"Beast Boy, you never told me why you're here and not sleeping," she reminded him.

"Well, I woke up and I was hoping to go outside and enjoy the stars for a little when I realized that you weren't in the room, so I followed your sent and… well… here we are," he finished with a nervous smile.

"Well here I am, so maybe you should go back to sleep," she suggested while turning her back to him and getting ready to meditate again.

"Ah, c'mon Rae, why do you have to be so grumpy all of the time?" he whined.

"And why do _you_ have to be so annoying all of the time?" she asked.

"Heeeeyyyy!" he cried.

"Just leave."

"No way Rae! Tehehe, that rhymed… Anyway… I'm not leaving you."

"Then you're wasting your time," she rolled her eyes and attempted to proceed into her meditation.

"Rae, as long as I'm with you, I'm never wasting my time," the words floated out of his mouth and then slapped his hand over his lips as if trying to keep anything else from escaping as he felt anxiety surge through his veins.

Raven's eyes shot open, but luckily her back was facing him, so that neither of their faces were visible to the other. Both of their cheeks turned a deep shade of red and awkwardness began to plague the silence. Beast Boy felt his own heart racing, but also heard Raven's pick up speed as well. Deciding to stay silent for his own good and for the lack of words he was currently able to formulate, he let Raven terminate the silence first.

"Gee, lucky me," Raven managed to say in a robotic tone.

"Well, uh, what I mean by that is that, uh… I'm glad when I spend time with you because I know that you're not getting yourself into trouble. You're one of my best friends and I would never want one of my best friends to be hurt," he felt relieve calm his beating heart.

"Beast Boy, I'm not going anywhere tonight but right here. I'm just meditating; it's been a while," she reassured him.

"Well, I'm staying right here to make sure," he said as he marched over next to her and plopped himself onto the ground with a thud and crossed his arms.

Raven instinctively inched a little further from him. "Suit yourself," she shrugged.

Beast Boy stayed silent and watched in amazement as she mentally disappeared from reality, leaving her levitating body behind. Her chanting, velvety voice was incredibly soothing and soon he found his eyelids falling under their sudden massive weight. He frequently snapped his head up, trying to stay awake, just to make sure Raven was still telling the truth. Sleep soon pervaded every last muscle, making them tiredly ach. Finally, he gave in and felt his reality melt too, into his unforgettable world of dreams.

Raven snapped out of her own head about twenty minutes later. Her wide eyes took in and adjusted to the dark of her current environment. She felt a little calmer and somehow, much more fatigued. Suddenly, she remembered Beast Boy and she twisted her head around to where she saw him last, and realized that he was far gone into sleep. He was lying in the cool grassed, with his back flat on the ground and his head resting so that his gaze followed straight up into the sky.

Raven watched as his chest moved up and down rhythmically with every soft breath he took. He mumbled incoherently every so often between breaths which made Raven have to hold down the urge to laugh. He looked so peaceful, even in the extremely dim lighting made available by the pale moon. She looked at him for a moment and decided that she better wake him up; she could never just leave him here.

"Beast Boy," she whispered.

He didn't even stir.

"Beast Boy," she repeated louder.

Again, there was no response.

"Beast Boy," she said even louder, shaking him.

She heard him groan and he twisted just a little.

"Beast Boy, wake up," she said as she continued to shake him awake.

This time, he groaned again and pulled Raven to the ground with him. A small scream escaped her throat as she was yanked into a tight hug onto the ground, next to Beast Boy. She felt his green arms wrap around her small frame and pull her closer to him. Still sleeping heavily, he began snoring in her ear as she wildly tried to free herself. She began flailing her legs and thrashing her entire body until she finally freed herself from his tight grip. Once free, she rolled over, putting about five feet between them and lied there, trying to gain back her breath in erratic huffs. A stinging sensation overtook her senses in surprise on her shoulder. She let her hand graze the alleged wound and brought her hand back to her vision in order to see the dark blood trickling down her fingers. She turned her head over to look at Beast Boy who was still sleeping, but this time, on his side, facing her, with his knees slightly bent, and his arms folded around his chest. On his hands, she saw the last of his claws retracting slowly. Raven wondered why in the world his claws even came out, and hoped with all of her might that he was just having a terrible dream. She shivered slightly, but didn't want to draw any quick conclusions especially with the thought of the beast that dwelled inside of him…

Raven sat up in frustration and looked at Beast Boy. There was no way she was going to get him up, and there was no way she'd even try again. She contemplated on what to do with him. She thought about carrying him back to the temple, but realized that she was way too tired for that. Then she thought about just leaving him here to sleep for the rest of the night. Her heart sank at the last though as she realized that there was no way she would leave him alone. Not after she saw his claws, and not after hearing what he said before. _As long as I'm with you, I'm never wasting my time. _Those sweet words pervaded her thoughts and forced bile of guilt to rise in the back of her throat. She couldn't leave him alone in such a vulnerable state. He was unconscious in the middle of nowhere with unwarranted claws showing up and with some of Slade's followers lurking somewhere around here. He made sure that he was there for her when he thought she was sneaking off, so whether she liked it or not, they were in this mess together.

Raven sighed and closed the large gap between them just a little- she didn't want to be close enough for him to grab her again. She lied down next to him and stared up at the night sky and felt her eyelids flitter. She noticed the dark, vast sky and pinpointed each bright and tiny star. The stars and the night sky were complete opposites. Together, they looked beautiful to create one big night sky, and alone, the sky would be empty and the stars would get lost. The image rippled in the film of her eyes and she stared between lazy blinks. Before falling asleep, she took one last look at Beast Boy and the corners of her mouth pulled upward very slightly. A last thought entered her mind before drifting to sleep: they were forever bonded. Without knowing how or why, she just knew that one could always count on the other. This was something other than a friendship, more like some kind of harmony. She couldn't decide yet if it would make her smile or make her scared, but she _did_ know that she would never get rid of him and maybe he would never be able to get rid of her. She would never leave him alone- never ever.

Finally closing her eyes, unconsciousness overtook her and she fell asleep beside the green changeling.

**Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! So, kind of on an irrelevant note, I've been reading online about the new ****Teen Titans Go!**** series on Cartoon Network, and I was wondering, am I the only one who's really disappointed?! Maybe I'm just being stubborn, but I was really hoping for a continuation of the original series. I feel like Teen Titans is turning into another pointless, brain-rotting program for children to watch. I'm really going to miss the underlining morals to each story and the exciting action that used to fill my childhood! I don't know; am I jumping to conclusions? I was just curious to hear your thoughts on it, so if you're going to leave a review for my chapter, do you mind adding your opinion about the new show? Thank you so much! :) **


	19. Chapter 19

Raven was suddenly no longer Raven. She was sitting in a dark room in a rather large chair, staring- no, glaring- at someone just in front of her. It was too dark to see exactly who the person was, but the silhouette provided a slim, tall figure that was wide at the shoulders. She felt heated resentment swelling through her pulse as she continued to stare at whoever this person was. She felt her sweaty skin sticking to something metal on her face and on her hands. The rest of her body had clothes on, but something sturdy and cold covered that too.

"Silence," she finally heard her voice hiss. It was an unmistakable voice; this was Slade.

"S-s-s-sorry sir," someone trembled in front of her.

Again, she felt rage ripping through her current body.

"They know," Raven felt Slade's voice rumble through their shared body.

"B-b-b-but how do y-y-you know?" asked that other voice again.

"Never mind that," Slade gently assured. "I want to know how _they_ found out."

"But wh-wh-who are y-"

"The Teen Titans of course," Slade raised his voice to interrupt the ridiculous stammering.

"Oh, of c-c-course."

"As I was saying, how did they find out?"

"I'm n-n-not sure sir, but Victor is miss-s-s-sing," the man in front of her updated.

"What?" Slade spat. Raven could feel Slade biting into his bottom lip from behind the mask.

"He's not h-h-here."

"How did you let him leave," Slade asked in a lower, yet much more death-defying voice.

"I-I-I don't kn-n-n-now sir," the man trembled in fear of his life.

"This would have never happened if everyone was just a _little. More. Careful_," Slade said between clenched teeth.

"Th-th-th-this will n-n-n-never happen again," the man whimpered.

"I don't have time to waste on this; I have to get there before the titans do," his sneered and let his fist slam on the arm of the chair as a final punctuation. Raven could feel the slight panic mixed with strong irritation building up within the pit of his stomach.

"Well don't just stand there! Tell me where they are," Slade growled.

"W-w-well they're hiding underground s-s-sir. Just b-b-b-beneath the Muir Tree," the man clarified in his shaky voice.

"How am I supposed to figure out _which_ Muir Tree they're hiding under?" he asked drenched in his disgust.

"It's-s-s-s the only M-M-Muir Tree for m-m-miles, sir," the man explained.

"Very well, I'll make sure that I leave as soon as I can. I cannot let the Teen Titans ruin this. Raven is much harder to crack than I thought, but no matter. I already have an idea," Raven felt the corners of his mouth stretch into a menacing smile. It was a smile that she had only pictured in the true horrors from the back of her mind. If she had her own body, shivers would surly gnaw at her spine.

Raven felt her body stand up from the large seat and start heading out of the door.

"Uh, sir, w-w-what do you want us t-t-t-to do about Victor?" the figure inquired. Raven could feel how vexed Slade was becoming, and how hasty he was to get out of there as quickly as he could.

"I'll deal with it when I get back," Slade softly said in his face. Getting closer, Raven realized that this man was Malchior… She's never seen him so terrified. She watched as he nodded his head erratically and step back from Slade's piercing mask.

Slade stormed off and proceeded to open the door. As soon as the door opened, a bright white light blinded Raven and her eyes instinctively shut and then reopened to reality.

Raven blinked a couple of times and shook her head. The sun could have only risen no more than two hours ago. The birds were gleefully chirping through the echoing hills and vast fields. Suddenly realizing what just occurred, she went to sit up, but felt something constraining her. Twisting her head around, she was mortified to see Beast Boy's arm wrapped around her like some kind of stuffed animal.

He was still fast asleep and had a goofy, irregular smile on his face. She sighed in a deep annoyance, and tried to pry herself free. Suddenly, Beast Boy mumbled something in his sleep, so Raven made a dead stop. She didn't want to wake him just yet. His sleep talking was incoherent, and his voice very airy, yet cheery. Lifting his head up slightly, he placed it down on Raven's chest and let out an abrupt, single snore, and held Raven tighter. Biting her lip, she tried everything in her power not to throw him down the hill.

Why was he still sleeping anyway? Did she not scream? This had been a normally occurring routine for the past month. She cleared her throat just to make sure, but her vocal chords didn't ach; they were just waking up with her. Becoming more and more irate, Raven found no other choice than to wake him as quickly as she could.

"Beast Boy! Wake up!" she called as she violently shook him.

Beast Boy stirred, but nothing more than a quick swat and moan came from him.

With little patience left, Raven held out her hands and shocked him with her powers. "Garfield Logan, wake up now!" she yelled to him in the process.

Beast Boy nearly jumped out of his skin as he jolted awake. His body violently shook with the energy from Raven's powers, but his arms only wrapped around her even tighter, as if his life depended on it, and let out a screech.

"What? What? What?" his voice cracked. Ever since his voice deepened, his voice cracks became all the more comical, but right now, Raven couldn't even think of a way to make fun of him.

Beast Boy opened his eyes wide and took in the image that was killing Raven for the past ten minutes. His face went pale, and then a deep red. He quickly threw himself off of her and then nervously giggled.

"Hehe, I guess I rolled over in my sleep," he said nervously.

Raven just glared at him and didn't say a word, letting her mind race with everything that she just saw. Could this all be real and would anyone really believe her? This dream was so unlike any other she's had in the longest time. Yes, it was a nightmare, but there was something different about this one. The information she had was farfetched, but it was worth the shot. They didn't have much else to work with and if Slade really was coming, they were running out of time.

"Slade's coming and I know where my kids are," she sat up and suddenly babbled in a rushed statement.

"Huh?" he asked still very awkwardly.

"Look, I know this is going to sound crazy and I don't know how or why, but I think I saw Slade's memory or something. He knows that we're here and he knows that we're aware of him kidnapping Melvin, Timmy, and Teether. He's coming here and finding the hideout to devise some other kind of plan. Most importantly, I know where the hideout is! It's beneath the Muir Tree," she finished, trying to silently catch her breath. She couldn't help but feel foolish that she didn't stop in her prattle to breathe.

"That's… really weird Raven. You know all of this for sure?" he asked, still not sure if eye contact with her was okay.

"No, but what else do we have?" she nearly shouted.

"Okay, let's go find everyone else and-" before he finished, Raven grabbed him from under his arms and took flight, pushing through the air at such a high speed that Beast Boy felt his eyes water.

Once at the temple, Raven placed Beast Boy down and landed in such a rush that she stumbled, but quickly found her balance to sprint into the temple. She rushed passed the short hallway and moved debris out of her way with her powers. Beast Boy shook his head and took off after her, but unable to quite match her speed. She skidded to a stop in front of the area where they were sleeping and barely took the time to breathe.

"I know where the hideout is, and Slade is coming," she called out into the room.

Robin's body sat up and his head snapped around in her direction, and his eyes narrowed from beneath his mask. "Tell us what you know," he said a little hoarsely from just waking up.

Starfire, Cyborg, and Bobby sat up too and stared at Raven with stunned faces, yet with hopeful eyes.

"So, I had another dream last night, but this one was different," she started.

"Wait, you found all of this out in a dream?" asked Cyborg.

"I know it sounds crazy, but yes. Just hear me out because I think it's important," she said masking her worry under her unique monotone.

The rest of the team nodded and let her continue.

"So, I was in this dark room and I was talking to someone else who seemed horrified of me. When I spoke, I realized that I was Slade. He spoke about finding out that we know about the kidnapping. He didn't say why, only that he knew. He was outraged that we ruined this plan, but he suddenly came up with this new plan. I don't know what it is, but he's coming here and going to the hideout-which I found out is beneath the Muir Tree. It's the only one for miles, so we can't miss it," she finished, shaking as if reliving the moment.

"Raven, you're sure this is what you saw?" asked Robin seriously. He stood up and walked towards Raven.

"Positive," said Raven who's eyes could no longer blanket her eagerness with her usual dullness.

"Okay, we'll go search then. To be honest, it's the best lead we have," he finished a little sadly.

"Let us be prepared for the kicking of butt!" Starfire called with her fist in the air.

Cyborg snickered, "Well, we've gotta find 'em first, Star."

"Then what do we wait for?" she called.

Bobby stood up and waddled over to Raven. His huge grin was fueled in size by the hope that pervaded his thoughts. He was grateful for the team's bravery and Raven's knew findings. Without thinking, he wrapped his tree-trunk-sized arms around Raven and hugged her tightly. Her feet were lifted off of the ground and Bobby swayed her in the air back and forth. Raven's discomfort did not just rest in the awkwardness of close contact, but her crushing ribs too. Her face contorted in pain as she gave Bobby his ten seconds of gratitude and then tried to wiggle herself free. The rest of the team giggled as he let her down and she desperately tried to gain balance in her numb legs. Finally standing up, she blew her knotted hair out from in front of her face, glared at the rest of the team, and pulled up her hood.

"Team, there's no time to lose. If we get there quick enough, we may beat Slade there, and maybe we'll have a shot in catching him this time," Robin reminded the team, allowing his obsession to once again engulf his mind.

Without another word, the team raced out of their sleeping quarters and into the dawn developing over the landscape. Raven could feel her heart pounding in her ears, flushing out most other noises. Blindly following a dream she had wasn't exactly in her book of best courses of action, but this was all she had to hold onto, and if Slade was really coming, there was no time to waste on disregarding it.

"How do you know which way to go from here?" asked Robin with bent knees, getting ready to run in any direction that Raven says.

"Well, from Melvin's memory, I distinctly remember them traveling around the back and to the right of the building," she recalled, pointing in the direction.

Robin nodded and ran in the general direction.

"Please, what does this tree of Muir look like? I shall look for it above," offered Starfire.

"Wait, Star, I already know what this tree looks like. This tree is _huge _so it won't be hard to miss. I'll look for it," directed Beast Boy who quickly turned into a hawk and began soaring through the sky to look for it.

"Follow the grass stain," called Cyborg who already had his neck stretched so his head was facing the sky, and trying to keep pace with the green dot in the air.

Beast Boy continued his search in the air and flew over tall hills that blocked his view. Now reaching one of the highest points, he realized that there really only were about five to ten trees gathered in a single area, pine trees to be exact, and then one lonely, massive tree that poked over into his view. Beast Boy sucked in a large sum of air through his nostrils and smelt the unmistakable sent to any animal living in a setting like this, of a Muir Tree. He cawed out a sound of excitement and alert to the team that he found what they were looking for. He took a quick glance below to see the team rushing to follow him.

Being rather informed about the earth's natural environment based on his various animal instincts, he found it odd that there was only one Muir Tree in the whole area. Wouldn't this tree find a way to populate itself? This tree had to be over fifty years old. Suddenly, he realized that this hideout had to be almost as old as this tree! The hideout was most likely dug when this tree was first growing, so whoever dug the underground tunnels must have went around the tree, allowing only for _it_ to survive and not the offspring seeds that were left in too shallow of soil. Who knows who else has used this place?

The team continued to follow Beast Boy as he gracefully flew them over to the giant tree. It was a bit further than they had gone the night before. They watched as they went above the hills and caught a glimpse of the single Muir Tree, and then dipped into the valleys were the tree would momentarily disappear. After a while of walking, Raven used her powers to form a black platform to allow Cyborg and Bobby to climb on with her while Starfire followed close behind, carrying Robin. They caught up to Beast Boy and followed his lead. After quite a while of flying, the tree finally came close enough for them to land. All of them tried to land with as much grace as possible because if the tunnels were really underground, they had to be careful so that they were not heard.

"So where is this secret hideout?" wondered Starfire who kept an effort to keep her voice down.

"I don't know, but we have to look around," said Raven with her voice drowning in determination.

With that, the team began frantically looking for an opening of some sort that would lead them into this alleged tunnel. Together they searched within the area, but found nothing that could get them down there. They had to find this fast, because if Slade was really coming, they had to make sure to beat him, if he wasn't already down there…

Doubt began to spread through Raven's veins like poison, extinguishing any really hope that she had in finding them. As time went on, she could feel the team losing their confidence in this idea too. How much longer could they try this before it would be considered wasting time?

"Raven, are you sure this dream of yours really lead you here?" asked Cyborg gently.

"Yes," she snapped.

"All's I'm sayin' is that maybe you don't remember it correctly," he said a little softer, trying not to tic her off, but hoping that she'd come to realize that maybe this isn't it.

"I know what I saw," Raven said in her hoarse monotone.

"Raven, maybe he is doing the mind tricks that he always does," said Starfire empathetically.

"Maybe Slade is somewhere else," said Robin, rubbing his chin.

"Or maybe we should keep looking," Raven retorted with a slight irritation in her voice.

"Hey dudes!" came Beast Boy's voice from the top of the hill. The team looked up from their argument and saw the green changeling waving his arms over his head.

"Keep your voice down!" Robin tried to warn.

"What?" Beast Boy called from the top of the hill.

"Oh for the love of God," whispered Cyborg angrily.

"Uh, not sure what ya just said, but look at what I can do!" he called much like a five year old seeking attention would have.

Everyone on the team had their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide with shock. They were surprised at how idiotic this was and why he would even try! He lied down on his side and began furiously rolling down the hill, giggling the whole way down. His entire body became a blur as he gained speed and kicked up all sorts of dirt with him.

"Beast Boy, stop!" called Robin.

"Dude, I so can't!" Beast Boy yelled through his laughter.

"Friend Beast Boy, if you do not stop, you may hit into the tree of Muir!" warned Starfire.

Beast Boy let out a small scream as the tree grew closer and closer, and he was unable to stop.

With one last screech from Beast Boy, and a gasp from the team, he smacked right into the tree with a loud thud. Beast Boy tried to lift his head, but even that was too much for him to handle because his head swayed in every direction. Unable to see straight, he saw duplicates of the team running towards him.

"Beast Boy! Oh Beast Boy, are you injured?" asked Starfire hysterically as she flew over to him.

"You little grass stain! We warned you not to do that!" hollered Cyborg.

"Beast Boy, can you hear us?" asked Robin quickly.

"Beast Boy, are you okay?" Raven asked slightly startled, and Bobby following close behind.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay. Thanks Rae," he said dazed and a little confused.

"Good, because you are _such_ an idiot," Raven commented when she got to his side, quickly trying to heal his swelling ankle, as Beast Boy's heart sank and he glared at her.

"Dudes, did you see that?" he asked, resembling the same dream-like-state tone of a stoner.

"Unfortunately," mumbled Raven.

"Uh, guys, we've got company," warned Cyborg, looking back as a sudden hole in the ground opened through the grass and soil.

"They have heard us!" Starfire nervously said.

"What was it about mind tricks and not remembering what I saw?" pointed out Raven, still in the process of healing Beast Boy.

"No time for that! Quick, Cyborg and Bobby- you guys help me attack whoever comes out of there, Starfire- you hold open that door, and Raven- well… you just stay here and heal Beast Boy," Robin directed when he suddenly saw the bright red hair of Control Freak which he could easily take down without Raven and Beast Boy's help.

"Whatever," commented Raven in a monotone.

"Oh yeah man!" cheered Cyborg, clearly ready for action.

Before the baffled Control Freak could make a sound, Cyborg blasted him with his cannon, out of the entrance. Starfire flew to the opening and stretched her body, so that her legs were holding one side and her arms were holding the other side. As Control Freak's unconscious body flew into the air, it came straight towards Raven and Beast Boy. Beast Boy gasped, but Raven already projected her force field around the two of them. Control Freak slammed right onto the black dome, and slid down to the ground where Bobby stomped on his legs and a loud crack echoed into the sky. There, Robin quickly jumped on top of him, and used his grappling cables to tightly bind the criminal before he even knew what hit him.

"I knew it would be you, Titans!" Control Freak called in frustration.

Robin just smirked at the over-weight fool trying to get himself free, and then suddenly became serious again when he heard Julie's voice on some kind of walkie-talkie, coming from a pocket in Control Freak's pants. Robin smacked a hand over his mouth and reached for the device.

"Control Freak, what the fuck is going on up there? Would you just answer me, you good for nothing lard?" came Julie's demanding voice.

"Yeesh, how do you put up with that?" whispered Cyborg, coming behind Robin.

"We don't have much time; she'll realize that he's not answering," figured Robin.

"I do not mean to do the complaining, but these doors are rather difficult to keep open," struggled Starfire.

Robin threw the walkie-talkie and ordered the team to rush down through the tunnel. Robin led them with Cyborg not too far behind. Bobby went next, and then Raven wrapped Beast Boy's arm around her shoulder and helped him through as he limped to keep up with them. Starfire strained to hold it open for the five of her friends to walk through, and then quickly let it snap shut. The team was left in the dark for a minute until lights lit up a long hallway, leading to another set of closed doors. The size of the hallway was even big enough for Bobby to get himself inside; after all, Cinderblock had to fit through here too. The walls around them and floor beneath them was mainly constructed of densely packed soil. The ceiling however, was a light grey with long lights following the general center line.

"Great, now what?" asked Cyborg, irately pointing in the direction of the closed doors.

"We could always wait for someone else to come out and check up on Control Freak," chimed in Beast Boy.

"It may be too late by then. If Slade really does know that we're coming, he'll know it's us, and he may try to move everyone before we get there," thought Robin.

"Then we must break through it!" announced Starfire as her eyes glowed a piercing green and held out her hand.

"Wait! Starfire, before you destroy it, let me see if I can figure out how to open it," suggested Cyborg, already opening his arm and walking towards it.

"He's right; if you accidently destroy the door, it may not even open and we would have alerted everyone inside," clarified Robin.

The team followed Cyborg, constantly on guard for any sign of investigators.

"Ah, just what I thought; it needs a password of some sort. This should be a cinch," smiled Cyborg.

While waiting, Raven sat Beast Boy down and attempted to heal his ankle more.

"Thanks Rae, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to walk," thanked Beast Boy, smiling at her.

"No problem," she responded blankly without looking up at him, clearly too engaged in using her healing powers.

"You were totally scared for me," Beast Boy pointed out teasingly smug.

"What?" asked Raven, rolling her eyes.

"You heard me. You were so worried about me," he continued.

"You must have been delusional," she bickered.

"No, no, no. I _so_ saw you! You were so concerned," he teased.

Raven looked up at him and stared into his dark green eyes for a second before whacking him right in the back of the head.

"Ow! Rae, that hurt!" he whined.

"If that bruises, I'm not healing it," she said bitterly.

"Whatever, you still cared," he pouted.

"Enough you too, we got the door open," said Robin, trying to direct their attention back to the task.

Beast Boy shook out his ankle, and stood up. He wobbled at first, but eventually stood straight, nearly painlessly.

The doors opened to reveal another long, narrow hallway with the same lights as in the previous entrance hallway. The walls, floor, and ceiling were boarded with weathering grey tiles that coincided with the previous ceiling. At the very end, there was another set of doors, but these just had simple handles to push open.

"Okay team, we need to come up with a plan, and quick," urgently explained Robin.

Suddenly, a loud bang erupted the quiet of the room, as both doors were ripped open and Billy Numerous walked through. Seeing the titans, he called out to whoever was inside, and multiplied into six.

"Too late," gulped Beast Boy.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" yelled Raven without hesitation.

With her eyes glowing white, she engulfed both doors in a menacing black energy, she twisted them inwardly to squish all of Billy Numerous's multiples. Once he was down, the rest of the titans rushed in to attack the others, but unfortunately, the opposing team inside had plenty of time to prepare.

Rushing in, Cyborg blasted his cannon in Cinderblock's face, consistently dodging his poorly aimed fists. Again and again, Cinderblock missed, but it only took one direct hit to send the half man, half machine, skidding across the floor. With Cinderblock being almost too big to even squeeze through the hallways, ran towards him with so much force, that when they collided, Cyborg was thrown into a wall. A large crash sounded and shook the underground room as a crack followed up the wall, just falling short of reaching the top. Dust clouded Cyborg's vision and throat as he deeply coughed.

Robin, who was frantically looking for Slade, heard the crash and abandoned his, so far, fruitless search, to aid him. Jumping on top of several blinking machines, he gained enough height to land on Cinderblock's shoulders and attached two explosive discs before jumping back off. Cinderblock roared in pain as the two discs exploded in his ears and set a firing pain to shoot across his entire shoulder and into his neck. This gave Cyborg enough time to shake his head and blast another electric blue shock at his face.

Starfire was grappling with Julie in the far corner. They pushed and pulled in an erratic fashion, causing both of them great strain of their muscles as the grunted and squealed. Julie hooked her foot around Starfire's ankle and swept her down to the floor. Julie kneeled down next to her head and whipped out claws that were attached to dark gloves that were tightly wrapped around her hands. Finally, Starfire shot up and grabbed onto her shoulders and flew up into the air. She levitated high enough so that their feet were dangling about five feet off the ground. Julie flailed her legs, while clutching onto Starfire's arms and screamed for Starfire to put her down. Starfire grinned and swung her in the direction of the wall, and let her go. Julie slammed into the wall and fell back down to the ground. From there, Starfire began shooting her with green bolts, causing Julie's weak body to jolt up and down with every hit.

Beast Boy locked his eyes onto Adonis. He released a low growl and transformed into a cheetah. Running towards each other, they collided and fell to the ground. Beast Boy got up first and pounced onto his chest. He was about to bite down, but Adonis held his arm out to block the rows of sharp teeth. Beast Boy flinched back and Adonis punched him off. Beast Boy transformed back to himself, and then into a gorilla. In his gorilla form, he jumped up and used his large fists to drive Adonis into the hard ground.

Raven and Bobby were luckily unoccupied with fighting off any villains. They desperately searched for their missing friends through the turmoil around them. There were several doors lining the back wall, but it was almost impossible to guess which one, if any, held the three of them. They looked at each other quickly, and then moved to opposite ends of the wall, and began frantically opening them to check if any of their smiling faces would be lighting up one of the rooms behind.

Adonis was still fighting Beast Boy when he looked over and saw Raven and Bobby checking the rooms. He slyly grinned, gave one more punch to Beast Boy to get him off, and ran towards Raven. Bobby was busily searching for Melvin and the others, that he didn't even notice his partner being dragged away. In one swift move, he grabbed Raven around her waist and pinned her to the adjacent wall. She screamed as her hand was yanked from the door knob and the back of her head was slammed into the wall. She opened her eyes to see Adonis's face inches from hers.

"What do ya think you're doin' pretty girl?" Raven could smell his rancid breath.

"Let… go…" Raven said through clenched teeth and between twists.

"Aw, you're not leaving now, are ya?" he teased as his smile twisted.

Raven was about to phase through the wall, but he quickly pulled her closer to him so that her body was touching his cold, metal suit.

"Oh, you're not trying that again. C'mon hot stuff, we were just about to have fun," he said sarcastically with his arrogant smile.

"Oh yeah we are!" growled Beast Boy as he transformed into a lion and ran towards him, his face burning with hot anger and jealousy.

Adonis turned his head around just in time to see a large, green lion dig its large fangs into the shoulder of his machine body. Raven dropped to the ground, rubbing her head with her hand. She looked over in awe to see Beast Boy ripping into Adonis's machine. She just sat there for a moment with her eyes wide, when Bobby came rushing over to her and picked her up.

Snapping back into it, Raven and Bobby ran to finish out the rest of the doors. Coming to the final, center one, they both looked at each other and silently communicated their hope that Melvin, Timmy, and Teether were waiting inside, unscathed. They simultaneously took in a deep breath, and opened the door. All of the blood from both of their faces drained and their hearts fell to their feet, because this room was completely empty.

"Bobby, are you able to see what Melvin sees right now?" asked Raven frantically.

Bobby shrugged and then closed his eyes to concentrate.

Raven watched anxiously as his eyes reopened in shock. He began quickly looking around. Raven tried to follow his gaze, but his movement was so fast, that she couldn't keep up. Suddenly, his gaze fixed onto the railed ledge above them and pointed. At the very top, Slade was holding onto the rail with one hand, and with the other, was stroking Melvin's blonde hair. The three of them stood around him with tape over their mouths and cold fear in their eyes.

"Oh dear Raven, I was expecting you. I bet you have lots of questions, so I hope that you're pleased to hear that I am willing to answer nearly all of them," he calmly purred as his voice sent icicles streaming into Raven's veins.

**Hey guys! Because I live on Long Island, Hurricane Sandy has really hit us hard. School has been out all week which gave me plenty of time to write, but I have no idea when I'll be able to update next. Trust me; it's not going to be a month long, but probably not for another 2 weeks, depending on when I get power back. The power has been out across Long Island since Monday, but a generator has been keeping us going. The problem with this is that there isn't any more gas available to our city, so we have to use the generator sparingly from now on. Very honestly, I have no idea when I'm going to get power back. I'll try to write as frequently as I can, but it'll be hard with no laptop charger. Thank you to everyone for your reviews and I hope you all understand! Until next time, love and rockets3.**

**On another note, I just want to send my best wishes to those who took a harsh blow by Sandy. I know that many neighboring towns and even in New Jersey and New York City, thousands of homes are flooded and others were destroyed by fallen trees. To those without power and heat, trust me, I'm with you. Even though I've been doing an awful lot of complaining, I don't even have the worst of this. I wish all of you luck, and hang in there! I'll be thinking about all of those families in terrible conditions throughout this horrible recovery. Stay strong and don't give up :).**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey guys, so I hope you all don't hate me for going on such a long hiatus. I just hope all of you understand that my school work had to come first. I barely had any time to write; trust me, I would have much rather been doing this than taking practice AP tests! I was planning on coming back, but I never wanted to post anything about it because I didn't want to make promises that I wasn't sure I would be able to keep. Now that school is almost over, I finally have enough time to write again. I feel awful that I kept you guys hanging for so long, and I hope all of you forgive me, but I think that this worked out for all of us because now I'm so excited to be back- which means that new and exciting ideas are bouncing around in my head! I still thank everyone for all of their support in the past and I hope that I am still worthy of it. Hopefully your fondness of this story smothers the sting of abandonment and you guys still decide to read. Thank you to all of you guys who still want to read. Once again, I hope all of you enjoy this next chapter to ****Never Ever**** :).**

Raven in her stance, stifled a shiver as Slade chuckled beneath his mask. She tried to keep her eyes blank, so not to give Slade the satisfaction of being feared. There was no doubt in Raven's mind that Slade was able to notice every little emotion that slightly sparked within her head. She just stared at him as if trying to see through him, but there was no telling what he had planned for her, the kids, or the team.

Bobby, standing next to her still could do nothing for a moment but freeze. A sense of relief played beneath his blood-drained face. He was relieve to see Melvin and Timmy and Teether alive, but his blood left his face in cold fear as Slade continued to touch Melvin. His instincts told him to attack- to rescue- but his common sense told him to follow the lead of Raven.

"That's enough," called Slade in a loudness that was just above normal. With a chilling voice like Slade's, it could be felt rather than heard.

Everyone froze in mid-battle and gathered closer to where Slade was standing, as if being inevitably drawn to him like ancient sailors to the Sirens.

"Slade," hissed Robin as he jumped down from planting another exploding disc onto Cinderblock.

"Hello there Robin; oh, long time no see," Slade said sarcastically in his low, airy tone.

"What do you want with the kids?" he growled.

"It's not what I want with the children, foolish Robin," he said, picking up Teether and rocking him. Teether squirmed, but did not dare make a sound. Bobby twitched at the movement.

"Then put them down," spat Raven through clenched teeth.

Slade stopped looking at Robin and whipped his head around to direct his attention back to the empathy.

"Not just yet Raven. You and I need to have a little talk before I let them go," he said again with his velvet, yet terrifying voice.

"We can talk just as easily with the three of them down here," she stated forcefully and stared into his one visible eye.

"Dear Raven, do you take me for a fool? How do I know that you'll stick around?" his voice slithered from his throat.

"You will not dare harm them!" called Starfire with her eyes glowing green. The audience in the room turned around in a panic to look at the challenging red-head.

"Sweet Starfire, there is no need to worry about that," he chuckled. "As long as Raven doesn't give me a reason to hurt them, I will not touch a hair on their heads," he said matter-of-factly.

"You better not!" called Beast Boy from below, after finally pushing off Adonis who snickered and retreated to look up at his leader with a smirk.

"Oh young Garfield, I would not be so quick to shout at me like that if I were you," retorted Slade calmly while narrowing his eyes at the green teenager.

Beast Boy flinched at the sound of his real name. _How could he have known?_ He thought to himself.

Taking a second to recuperate, Beast Boy began "Oh yeah? Well if I were _you_ I wouldn't-"

"I have had _enough_ of your_ games_ Slade! Now tell me what the hell is going on!" shouted Raven with her fists balled and her legs crouched as if ready to jump. Dark energy began to shoot between her ankles as her entire body seemed to shake with pressure.

"Ah, just look at you Raven. You're already losing control… This is going to be easier than I thought." A sinister smirk was heard in his voice.

Raven took a moment to relax. She let her arms lose tension and fall down to her sides with much force after releasing her fingers from engraving her palms. Her legs straightened and became less stiff and allowed her jaw to be slightly calmed.

Slade touched Timmy's shoulder and chuckled while watching her. "That's a girl Raven. Resist. It'll work for now."

"You don't intimidate me," Raven stated rather than warned.

"Oh Raven, I thought you were smarter than that. My intentions are not to intimidate you. I think you can do that all on your own," he laughed. "A victim of your own mind," he pondered while looking up at the ceiling of the tunnel that was caked with dirt.

"We have no interest in listening to you talk in circles Slade! If you're not going to tell us anything, then we have no interest here," piped in Robin who was ready to lunge at any moment.

"I think you have plenty of interest here," he chuckled as he yanked his hand on Timmy's shoulder, causing him to jerk and whimper beneath the tape over his mouth.

Bobby growled at this and leaned forward.

"You're just sick," spat Cyborg whose temper was growing shorter.

"Why thank you; how sweet," Slade mocked.

Cyborg glared back, absolutely disgusted.

Raven could almost hear the clicking of impulses going off in her head. Her body was on the verge of shaking again. Slade was getting the best of her and she knew it wouldn't be wise to show it, but what choice did she have? Her anger, like always, was coming in waves and it was only a matter of time before one over took her. She felt her powers biting at her finger tips, trying to find its way out, but she refused to give in that quickly. It was like every word he said- every move he did- was an attempt to throw her over the edge; and God did he know just how to do it.

"What do you want Slade?" asked Raven through clenched teeth.

She knew he could feel her anger, so expressing it at least a little bit wouldn't be revealing any kind of secret. Allowing some energy to be released in the back of her throat was beneficial anyway. She may not be able to hide her emotions from him, but hopefully she would still be able to hide just how easily it took control of her. For now she would stand her ground to try to prove a point, even if she wasn't sure if it existed in her favor.

Slade narrowed his eyes smugly, feeling her anger. "Why, you of course," he teased, "And your power," he purred.

Raven just stood her ground and stared.

"You will not get it!" yelled Starfire again, this time flying upward suddenly.

"Oh no Starfire, see, you're not being fair. You're going to attack me? I haven't made any violent gestures to any of you," he said calmly to Starfire before she could make it to the elevated ledge that he and the children were standing on.

"Yet," Beast Boy snorted with his arms crossed.

"I would not test that," Slade warned coolly without even looking at him. He kept his gaze on Starfire as her small eyebrows scrunched into wrinkles of anger.

"You leave her alone," warned Robin in a hoarse, low voice.

"Or what?" he challenged.

Raven could feel how anxious Bobby was getting next to her. She quickly glanced at him and realized that his gaze never fell from Melvin's huge blue eyes that dug into his. She was holding back tears; she could tell. Her maturity and bravery was remarkable to Raven. Looking up at the three children and then up at Slade, she realized that this was her chance. With Slade distracted, she can get Melvin, Timmy, and Teether out of his reach. She pulled up her hood and phased through the floor with nothing left to her other than a dark swarm of her magic.

Bobby broke his stare from Melvin suddenly when he noticed that Raven was no longer next to him. Unfortunately, Slade noticed too and within the split second that it took for Raven to transport to where he and the kids stood, he lifted his leg and swung it around to hit her straight in the face.

"Ahhh," she yelped as she was forced across the ledge and onto the floor where she skidded several feet behind her attacker.

"Silly Raven, did you really think that was going to work?" he shouted with laughter and began walking towards her.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" shouted Beast Boy as he sprung into the air and morphed into an eagle.

Adonis snickered and ran up to the green eagle and grabbed it in mid flight. Beast Boy thinking quickly, morphed into a gorilla to prevent Adonis's grasp from trapping him.

"Think again pal!" yelled Cyborg with his cannon pointed in Slade's direction.

Without anyone really noticing before, Billy Numerous had already entered the room when Slade made his appearance. He grinned and ran over to Cyborg and multiplied himself to surround him.

Robin suddenly took out his rope and hook and began swinging it, aiming the hook at the railing on the ledge. Bobby too got ready to take action by allowing his claws to break from the cloth that made up his body, and walked underneath the ledge in hopes that he could find a way to climb it and get to Melvin.

Noticing all of this and deciding to prevent it, Slade stopped his walk over to Raven and shouted over the noise, "enough!"

Everyone, as if practiced in some morbid routine, stopped whatever they were doing and turned to Slade above them. Although no one was able to see it beneath his mask, it could be seen in his eyes: the cruel smile that cracked his lips. After being satisfied in his team's cooperation, he pulled his attention back to the empathy.

Raven was already on her feet, but wobbling. By the time she lifted her head, Slade was inches from her. He pulled back his hand and slammed it against her face. Her scream only made him shake with excitement. Trying to recover quickly, she breathed heavily and tried to prop herself up on her arms, but the struggle was clear. Slade saw this and kicked down whatever progress she made.

"Raven!" Beast Boy called from below them and started to run, but was blocked by Adonis.

"Quiet boy, Raven and I are going to have a talk," he informed.

Slade turned back to Raven and took the bottom of her jaw in his hand and lifted her head with a yank. Raven grunted in pain, but had no choice but to follow. She put both of her hands on his single hand and tried to pry herself free. With both of her eyes squeezed shut, she tried to twist, but her body seemed so puny against his.

"Raven, no!" called Melvin who ripped the tape off of her mouth without even flinching.

Slade turned his head to look at the young girl. "Calm down Melvin, I am not going to kill her. I'm not done with her yet," he turned back to Raven. "So Raven, are you going to stop with your resisting, or will you listen to me?" he questioned.

Even through his mask, Raven could still smell his rancid breath slithering from his mouth that burned just as much as his words that it lingered on. She tried to get out a response, but his grip on her jaw left her mouth almost immobile.

"I'll take that as a yes," he mocked.

Slade looked into her eyes one more time. The team below held their breaths, knowing that if they made any move, they would only be harming Raven even more. He enjoyed developing the intense silence between everyone in the room. Finally he decided to release, but violently. This time, he dug his fingers into her skin, managing to draw a bit of blood that trickled down her neck in a minute stream, and tossed her head to the side which sent her entire body following. She tumbled over herself and hit into the railing with an echoing crash.

Beast Boy felt claws involuntarily rip through his finger tips. A deep growl rumbled from the pit of his stomach and into his throat. Without thinking and his vision becoming blurred, he started to run forward. Adonis simply jumped in front of him, causing Beast Boy who was bolting at a quick speed to slam into him and fall to the ground. Adonis, because of his bulky metal suit, smirked and merely shook on impact.

"Move!" Beast Boy growled as he stood up with his face twisted and distorted in anger.

"Don't take another step Mr. Logan," Slade warned hotly. "If you make one more move, I will kill the children."

Beast Boy clenched his fists and scrunched his face in anger. Reluctantly, he backed down and watched helplessly, never exactly letting his glare leave Slade who now had his back to him. His mind flipped all over the place to come up with a stable plan, but so far, his mind was too scattered to come up with anything without major flaws.

Raven's head was pounding and she found it difficult to see and stand. She clutched her head and moved her eyes around to get her faulty vision back to normal. At the rate this was going, she didn't even bother standing up. She just waited for Slade to say what he needed to say.

"Glad to see that you chose to stick around for a while Raven," Slade chuckled.

"Did I have a choice?" she spat.

"Oh Raven, you actually did have a choice here. This was one of the few opportunities that you got the chance to make a choice. I'm glad you chose the right one," he answered coolly.

"Just tell me what you need to tell me Slade," she said annoyed.

"But we are in no rush here," he stated.

"Just go on," Raven said, feeling her nerve come back.

"Oh I see! Your three children must have a bed time. Is that what this is all about?" he asked while going up to Melvin.

"You leave me alone!" shouted Melvin as bravely as she could.

"Don't touch her!" Raven jolted to her feet and wrapped Slade's outstretched arm in black energy to freeze it.

Slade laughed, "Now that's what I'm talking about Raven! Feel that anger! It really gets you going, doesn't it?"

Raven just breathed heavily, refusing to let go of his arm.

"Okay, okay, I'll get on with this. Don't want to keep the Teen Titans waiting. Especially when there's a whole city left unattended."

"What are you talking about?" shouted Robin from below, not being able to hold in his anger any longer either.

"Well Robin, if the Titans East are anything like you say they are, then you have nothing to worry about," Slade answered in a tone that mocked assurance.

Without hesitating for a second, Cyborg quickly took out his communicator and tried to contact Bee.

"Hey Cy, I'm a little busy right now," Bee called into the communicator before Cyborg could say hello.

"Bee! What's goin' on there?" he nearly shouted.

"Cy, please! I have to go. Don't worry, we've got this under- Speedy, look out!" she warned which was followed by harsh static.

"Bee! Bee!" Cyborg tried to call back without much result.

"What have you done to our beloved city?" screeched Starfire.

"No, no, no. I believe that is not why all of you here. I believe Raven wants to know what's going on with her," Slade said smugly.

Raven's eyes widened. Suddenly she could feel Robin's concern, Starfire's anger, Cyborg's fear, Beast Boy's hysteria, Melvin's sadness, Timmy and Teether's confusion, Bobby's protectiveness, and Slade's… Slade's pride. His disgusting pride and happiness.

"Just tell me what you need to tell me so that we can get the hell out of here!" Raven shouted angrily.

"Oh Raven, we're not letting our anger get the best of us again, are we? I know how easily that takes control of you," Slade responded calmly.

"Fucking tell me," Raven said through clenched teeth, not sure of how much more she could take.

"Very well," he chuckled.

"Well…" Raven warned.

"So, as you already know, I have your precious mirror. You know Raven, you should probably be more careful of where you choose to keep the portal to your mind. I bet you're wondering what I plan to do with such a valuable item. Oh, your mind is so powerful from what I've heard from your father."

Raven felt a horrible chemical reaction take place in her body. She felt the ice from her fear, but felt the fire from her anger. She felt them as one, rupturing in her core.

"If you and my father are-" she started.

"Oh my, Raven your father is long gone. He has nothing to do with this. Other than the previous information that I have gotten from him, this plan is all my own."

"Great, want a medal?" she sardonically replied.

"Raven, your power is better than any silly medal," he paused for a moment to watch her face twist in anger.

"Go on before I use that power to send you to another dimension," she more warned than encouraged.

"Well Raven, as you can imagine, getting hold of your powers is extremely difficult. Eventually I realized that I had to make you… snap somehow." He started to make his way closer to the empathy. "Make you become more… mindless. I can't have your conscious morals and sense get in the way of my plans. You hold very strongly to your good will, believe it or not. Of course, not strong enough…" His face was nearly inches from his latest obsession. Raven stubbornly wouldn't let her eyes leave his. "Slowly but surely, I _will_ make you crack," he hissed.

"Just how do you plan to do that?" questioned Raven, holding back the lump in her throat effectively with her nose almost touching his cold mask.

"I haunt your dreams, I know how to crush your faith, and I know what makes you angry: an obvious necessity to cracking you." He backed up a little bit and held onto her shoulders. "I've been in your mind Raven… I know what makes you tick." He squeezed her shoulders, causing Raven to forcefully push his hands off. "There is no choice that you have here. I will eventually have the wrath of your being. I can make the world fall under my command because they will fear." He pulled the back of her hair this time, causing her head to be thrust upward. Raven wouldn't let a sound escape her lips. "They will fear me because I have you. All they need is a simple warning. Just one. Tiny. Warning. No rebellion will want to face you- my greatest weapon," he concluded with his human eye visible in the mask wide with morbid joy, his face being the closest it had been the whole time. Raven squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth.

"You'll never get the best of me," she let out.

"No Raven, I will get the worst of you… The very, very worst of you," he said softly while letting his free hand glide down her cheek.

"No! You leave Raven alone!" called Melvin who was marching forward with her fists bawled next to her.

"Aww, how sweet Raven; it seems that you have some people here who really care about you. Wouldn't it be a shame if anyone of them got hurt at your expense?"

Slade waited for her response, but she said nothing and just stared holes into him.

"Listen, I want to make a deal with you Raven. You can either leave this place with your team and the children, and go back to your mess of a city and I slowly hurt more people to get to you- and trust me, I _will_ get to you. Or you can stay here with me and I'll let everyone go free and they will have a chance to be spared. At this point, you can either come with me the hard way, or the easy way. Again, this is your choice," he concluded. He released her and backed up, while tapping his foot with his arms crossed across his wide chest that everyone was sure lacked a heart.

Raven just stared at him, not sure what to say.

"Rae, no! Don't listen to him for a second!" called Beast Boy with the hysteria never leaving his voice.

"He's tricking you Raven! You know that together we can beat him," coached Robin.

"Silence! The two of you! It is her choice, isn't it?" Slade called back down to them.

"You'll never win Slade," Raven finally said through pursed lips and a tight jaw.

"This is my final offer. Choose wisely," he advised.

"Never," she responded, dripping in hatred.

"I must say, you really surprised me. Fine. Suit yourself, but don't say that I didn't give you the choice. You may regret this when your choices run out," he said quietly, but angrily.

"I think _you'll _regret it when you're wrong," she answered, matching his anger.

"Somehow, I doubt that very much. Anyway, take your kids. This place will self destruct in five minutes," he said before running off.

Raven's eyes went wide and ran to Melvin, Timmy, and Teether who hugged her so tightly, that she thought she would die due to suffocation rather than being blown to bits.

"No!" Robin called out while trying to throw his boomerang at Slade, each time missing before he reached a pod that was designed to bring everyone up to the surface.

The rest of Slade's accomplices ran after him. Starfire tried throwing green bolts at Julie, but she got to the elevator in time. Cinderblock held the doors to the elevator open long enough for his team to enter. Adonis escaped because Beast Boy morphed into an eagle and flew up to Raven right away. Billy Numerous sped to the lift last. When everyone was in, Cinderblock jumped in and let the doors close. Cyborg tried to blast it open, but it was no use.

"Until next time Raven," Slade's voice echoed through the room as if on a loud speaker.

The sound of whining metal filled the air as the pod began to shake. It was getting ready to lift into a safe escape for them. The room as well began to shake slightly. Little trails of rock and dirt fell to the ground in the form of dust. Larger and larger chunks broke off and crashed around the team as they all frantically searched the room for a way out.

"No!" yelled Robin again as he jumped toward the pod filled with some of the most horrible people Robin has ever come to know.

"No Robin, you mustn't!" called Starfire after him. She flew above him and before a word of protest could escape his gritting teeth, she lifted him from underneath his arms and into the air with her.

"Give it up man; it's no use. We have to get out of here before this place blows up," called Cyborg over the growing sounds.

"Raven, c'mon! We've gotta get out of here!" Best Boy urgently yelled inches from Raven's ear. There was no way she would have heard otherwise.

"Raven, I missed you," said Melvin with tearing eyes.

"I've missed you too Melvin… all of you. We have to leave. Now."

"What do we do?" asked Timmy who Raven was happy to hear speaking in full sentences.

"Come with me," she said to the three of them, and then to Beast Boy.

"Of course," he said back.

Raven grabbed Melvin and Teether in her arms while Beast Boy took hold of Timmy. Raven floated to the ground while Beast Boy put Timmy on his back and took the shape of a Pterodactyl. When they landed at the bottom, Raven called everyone over to her. Bobby ran and immediately picked up Melvin, Timmy, and Teether. Starfire flew over, carrying Robin, and Cyborg ran towards her. Raven touched her fingers to her temples and allowed herself to focus all of her energy on transporting everyone. Her eyes became white and she threw her arms outward. A fraction of a second following, a huge black raven formed around the team in an outrageous wing span and transported all of them outside of the crumbling hideout.

Once outside, everyone lost balance and tumbled to the ground disorientated. Raven gasped for air as her eyes went back to normal and nearly felt depleted. Everyone got back up and started to run, but Raven still lagged. Beast Boy whipped back around and lifted her arm over his shoulder for needed support, and basically carried her away from the explosive sight.

Once far enough away, they stopped to catch a breath. Beast Boy lay Raven down gently and took a place next to her. The two of them breathed deeply and almost exactly together. Both of their chests rose and collapsed as they stared up into the sky.

"You… okay…?" asked Beast Boy when he gained enough breath to speak.

"Y-… yes… thanks," Raven feebly answered.

He turned over on his side to face her, "good."

Raven closed her eyes, but nearly smiled.

"Wow, that place still hasn't blown up… It's almost as if Slade made it easy for us to escape," observed Cyborg who watched what they had just run from very eagerly.

"He still needs Raven. He wanted to give us plenty of time to make sure that she is still alive," concluded Robin with a husky voice.

Raven's eyes shot open. Suddenly everything that happened became real to her. The whole conversation, the bruises and cuts she was sure she still had, and his plot… his horrible plot…

As she continued thinking and the rest of the team still tried to catch their breaths, an earsplitting boom shook the sky and allowed small flames to split it. Pieces of shattered metal tumbled through grass and shards of glass soared through the sky.

"It looks kinda pretty from far away," Beast Boy only half joked.

"Please, is this not a firework?" asked Starfire putting the accent on the wrong syllable.

"No Star, those are for entertainment. For fun. This was most definitely not for fun," Robin informed her.

Starfire giggled as a response.

"Hey, did we leave Control Freak there?" asked Cyborg horrified.

"No, I didn't see him as we were passing. They must have picked him up before splitting. Besides, there's no way he would have survived that," Robin shivered at the image of Control Freak's limbs flying in the atmosphere like any other piece of discarded metal.

"Well, anyway, we should start heading back," suggested Cyborg.

"Let's go," agreed Robin.

The group began to follow except for Beast Boy and Raven.

"Rae… Raven. Rae? Hey Raven?" tried Beast Boy.

As if snapping back into reality, she flinched and all of her thoughts left her to the sight of Beast Boy waving his hand in front of her face.

"Wha- oh, coming," she said and got up to follow without taking another look at Beast Boy. Both of their hearts were left to sink lower and lower on the walk back to the temple.


End file.
